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HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH 
AND    STATE    IN    NORWAY. 


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HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH 
AND    STATE    IN    NORWAY 

FROM  THE  TENTH  TO  THE 
SIXTEENTH     CENTURY 

BY  THOMAS  B.  WILLSON,  M.A. 


WESTMINSTER 
ARCHIBALD  CONSTABLE  &  CO  LTD 

2    WHITEHALL    GARDENS 
1903 


&  Kloof 


BRADBURY,   AGNEW,    &   CO.    LD.,    PRINTERS, 
LONDON  AND  TONBHIDOE 


PKEFACE. 


ENGLISH  readers  are  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  most 
striking  events  in  the  history  of  Norway  in  the  heroic 
days,  but  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  no  English 
writer  has  endeavoured  to  trace  the  history  of  the  Church 
in  Norway,  from  its  foundation  in  the  time  of  Olaf  Tryg- 
vess0n,  down  to  the  period  of  the  Eeformation.  If  I  am 
correct  in  this,  the  omission  seems  a  strange  one,  as  the 
Church  in  Norway  was  the  only  daughter  of  that  of 
England  to  be  found  in  Europe.  Her  missionaries,  it  is 
true,  laboured  in  many  parts  of  the  Continent,  but  I  think 
that  in  no  country,  except  Norway,  could  it  be  said,  that 
they  helped  to  found  and  nurture  a  national  Church,  where 
none  before  existed. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  have  for  a  long  time  wished 
to  supply  English  readers  with  a  history  of  this  Church; 
and  a  close  acquaintance  with  Norway,  extending  over 
thirty  years,  makes  it,  I  hope,  not  altogether  presumptuous 
to  attempt  the  task.  With  this  object  in  view,  I  obtained, 
some  ten  years  ago  (through  my  friend,  the  late  Pastor 
Andreas  Hansen),  the  kind  permission  of  Dr.  A.  Chr.  Bang, 
now  Bishop  of  Christiania,  to  translate  his  valuable  Udsigt 
over  den  Norske  Kirkes  Historie  under  Katholicismen. 
Further  consideration,  however,  showed  me  that  this  work 
presupposed  an  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the 
Norwegian  Church,  such  as  few  English  readers  possessed, 
and  which  was  necessary  in  order  fully  to  appreciate  this 
valuable  survey.  I  felt,  therefore,  that  a  history  of  the 
Church  on  broad  lines,  and  avoiding  mere  technical  details, 


vi  PREFACE. 

might  prove  of  interest,  and  so  the  present  work  was 
undertaken. 

Further  study  of  the  subject  led  me  to  call  this  book  a 
"  History  of  the  Church  and  State  in  Norway,"  as  I  think  it 
will  be  found  that  in  Norway,  Church  and  State  were  more 
closely  connected  than  in  any  other  country  in  Europe. 
As  the  work  is  indeed  primarily  a  history  of  Norway  from 
its  ecclesiastical  side,  I  have  therefore  not  followed  more 
closely  than  it  seemed  necessary,  the  various  purely  civil 
events  and  the  warlike  expeditions  to  other  lands  in  the 
early  days. 

The  main  object  I  have  had  in  view  was  to  trace  the 
history  of  the  growth,  development,  vigorous  life,  and 
subsequent  decline  and  fall  of  that  Church,  of  which  the 
foundations  were  mainly  laid  by  the  English  fellow-helpers 
of  Olaf  Trygvess0n  and  Olaf  the  Saint,  at  the  end  of  the 
tenth  and  beginning  of  the  eleventh  centuries.  I  have 
further  wished  to  show  the  way  in  which  that  Church  was 
related  to  the  State,  and  the  struggle  which  it  had  for 
supremacy,  closely  akin  to  that  carried  on  about  the  same 
time  in  other  countries  of  Europe. 

The  story  is  a  deeply  interesting  one,  and  in  this  I 
hope  the  reader  will  agree  with  me.  If  not,  then 
the  fault  is  that  of  the  narrator,  and  not  of  the  events 
narrated. 

Elsewhere  will  be  found  a  fairly  comprehensive  list  of 
authorities  employed ;  but  I  wish  to  acknowledge  fully 
my  obligations  to  my  predecessors  who  have  written  on 
this  subject  in  modern  times,  especially  to  the  writings  of 
such  wonderful  learning  and  research  as  those  of  the  late 
Professor  Rudolf  Keyser  in  Den  Nor  she  Kirkes  Historic 
under  Katholicismen,  Dr.  Konrad  Maurer  in  Die  Bekelirung 
des  Norwegischen  Stammes  zum  Christ entliume,  and  to 
the  more  recent  works  of  Bishop  Bang,  Absalon  Taranger, 
A.  D.  J0rgensen,  and  the  late  Professor  Dr.  E.  T.  Nissen. 


PREFACE.  vii 

Lastly,  I  must  express  my  gratitude  to  those  who  have 
assisted  me  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  especially  to 
Professor  Dr.  Yngvar  Nielsen,  Rector  of  the  University  of 
Christiania,  for  advice  respecting  original  authorities  and 
also  for  much  useful  information ;  to  Pastor  S.  Hoist  Jensen, 
for  reading  the  proofs  of  the  entire  work,  and  for  many 
valuable  suggestions  and  corrections ;  to  the  Very  Rev. 
G.  W.  Kitchen,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Durham,  for  advice  on  many 
points  ;  to  Mr.  Clement  0.  Skilbeck,  for  his  admirable 
picture  for  the  title  page,  of  St.  Olaf  and  his  design  for  the 
cover  ;  to  Herr  Konservator  H.  Schetelig  and  the  autho- 
rities of  the  Bergen  Museum,  for  permission  to  photograph 
some  of  their  antiquarian  treasures ;  to  my  son,  Mr.  Olaf 
Willson,  B.A.,  for  many  references  in  English  and  foreign 
authorities,  for  his  appendix  on  the  Norwegian  stavkirker, 
and  for  the  index  ;  and  above  all,  to  my  wife,  without 
whose  unfailing  aid  and  encouragement  this  work  would 
probably  never  have  been  completed. 


T.   B.   WILLSON. 


SHOOTER'S  HILL,  KENT, 
March,  1903. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


PREFACE      ..... 
LIST   OP   PRINCIPAL   AUTHORITIES  . 


PAGE 
V 

xi 


r 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

- —  X. 

XI. 

—  XII. 
XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 


HEATHEN  NORWAY 1 — 9 

THE  POUNDING  OP  THE  KINGDOM  ....  10 — 16 

THE  FIRST  CONTACT  WITH  CHRISTIANITY.  .  .  17 — 21 
HAAKON  THE  GOOD  AND  THE  FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO 

INTRODUCE  CHRISTIANITY 22 — 30 

HARALD  GRAAFELL  AND  THE  HEATHEN  REACTION 

UNDER  HAAKON  JARL 31 — 38 

OLAF  TRYGVESS0N  AND  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  "THE 

WHITE  CHRIST" 39 — 57 

ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR    ....  58 — 90 

MAGNUS  THE  GOOD  AND  HARALD  HAARDRAADE   .  91 — 104 

OLAF  KYRRE  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  SIGURD  JORSALFARER  105 — 116 

CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES   .  117 — 131 

MISSION  OF  CARDINAL  NICHOLAS  BREAKSPEARE   .  132 — 155 

SVERRE  AND  THE  GREAT  STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  CHURCH  156 — 184 
HAAKON  SVERRESS0N  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  HAAKON 

HAAKONSS0N 185 — 208 

MAGNUS  LAGAB0TER  AND  THE  T0NSBERG  CONCORDAT  209 — 224 

HAAKON  V 225—234 

MAGNUS  ERIK8S0N  AND  THE  BLACK  DEATH  .  .  235 — 251 

THE  CHURCH  UNDER  MARGARET  AND  ERIK  .  .  252 — 264 

ERIK,  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  KRISTOFER  OP  BAVARIA  .  265 — 274 

NORWAY  UNDER  DANISH  KINGS  ....  275 — 294 
KRISTIAN  II.  AND  FREDERICK  I. — THE  BEGINNING 

OF   THE   END  295 — 327 


x  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXI.   THE  INTERREGNUM  TO  THE  SIEGE  OP  COPENHAGEN  328 — 337 

xxii.    THE  CHURCH'S  DOWNFALL  AND  LOSS  OP  NATIONAL 

INDEPENDENCE  .  338—353 

v  r  3  Le 

APPENDIX  i. — "BIGEFRIDUS  NORWEGENSIS  EPISCOPUS"           .  355 — 357 

APPENDIX    II. — THE  NORWEGIAN  StdvTcirker  AND   THEIR   ORIGIN  358 — 364 

APPENDIX  III. — LIST    OF    BISHOPS    AND    ARCHBISHOPS    OP 

NIDAROS  .  365 — 367 


GENEALOGICAL   TABLES 


368—369 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


KING    EYSTEIN 

BORGUND  StavkirJce 

ALTAR  PIECE  PR 
ST.  OLAF,  FROM 
RELIQUARY  AT  I 
RUINS  ON  SELJE 
MARIA  KIRKE  IN 
AKERSHUS  AT  OSLO 


HEDRAL         .... 

Frontispiece. 

o.  SKILBECK) 

Title  page. 

,OM   AUSTEVOLD      . 

.      To  face  p.     46 

1   MOSTER       .... 

•        •             „         72 

. 

.         .              „        112 

Irke     ..... 

.         .              „        132 

OM   LUR0       .... 

„        186 

FJELD            .... 

„        208 

IEDAL  

„        246 

1 

.         .              „        258 

r   BERGEN       .... 

282 

3LO       

.         .              „        322 

R   CATHEDRAL 

348 

MAP   OP   THE   THREE  SCANDINAVIAN   KINGDOMS. 


LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AUTHORITIES. 


Ix  the  following  list  will  be  found  the  principal  authorities,  both 
mediaeval  and  modern,  used  in  this  history.  The  list  is  not,  however, 
by  any  means  an  exhaustive  one. 

The  H&imslmngla  of  Snorre  Sturlass0n  (b.  1178,  d.  1241).     Prom  the 

earliest  times  down  to  the  battle  of  Re,  1177. 
The   Sverre's  Saga,  Haakorts,   Guthorm's  and  Inge's  Saga,  Haakon 

Haakonss<jyn?s  Saga,  by  Karl  Jonsspn,  Sburla  Thordss0n  and  others. 

From  1177  to  1263. 

Fagrskiinna.    A  history  from  Half  dan  the  Black  to  Sverre. 
Agrip.  A  fragment  of  great  value,  probably  from  1190.   From  Halfdan 

to  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer. 
Flateyarboh.    A  MS.  from  the  island  of  Flatey  (Iceland) :  a  collection  of 

various  Sagas  to  1395. 

Saga  of  Olaf  Trygvessijyn,,  by  Odd,  a  monk  of  Thing0re,  in  Iceland. 
Olafden  helliges  Saga,  edited  by  Munch  and  Unger  (Ghristiania),  1853. 
Bishop  Arne's  Saga,  and  Bishop  Laurentius's  Saga.    13th  century. 
Danorum  Historic,  by  Saxo-Grammaticus. 
Historia  de  Antiquitate  regum  Norwegiensium,  by  Theodoricus  Monachus : 

in  Langebek's  Scriptores  rerum  Danicarum,  Vol.  V. 
Gesta  Hammalurgensis  Ecclesiw  Pontificum,  by  Adam  of  Bremen. 

The  following  Chronicles  in  places  referring  to  Norway  : — 
Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  :  Florence  of  Worcester,  "William  of  Malmesbury, 
Simeon  of  Durham,  Roger  de  Hoveden,  Matthew  Paris,  William  of 
Jumieges. 

NorgesGamleLove  (The  Old  Laws  of  Norway),  Vols.  I.*— V.  (Christiania), 
1846 — 95.  A  collection  of  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
legislation,  and  other  documents,  from  the  earliest  times  to  1387. 

Diplomatarium  Normgicum.  A  collection  of  documents  relating  to 
Norway ;  first  volume  issued  in  1849,  and  the  remainder  at 
intervals  since  that  date. 


xii  LIST   OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AUTHORITIES. 

Del  Norske  Folks  Historic,  by  P.  A.  Munch,  in  eight  vols.  (Christiania), 

the  two  last  relating  to  the  union  period. 

Norges  Historie  to  1387,  by  Rudolf  Keyser,  two  vols.  (Christiania). 
Udsigtover  **  Norske  Folks  j  B    j  R  ^  (Chrisfciania)> 

Histone,  four  vols.  ) 

Illustreret  Norges  Historie,  by  0.  A.  0verland  (Christiania). 
De  ffirste  Konger  of  den  Olden- 


By  C.  Paludan-Muller  (Copenhagen). 
By  Rudolf  Keyser  (Christiania). 


borgske  Slagt 
Orevens  Feide 
Det  Norske  Kirkes  Historie  under 

Katholicismen,  two  vols. 
Die  Bekehrung  des  NorwegiscJien  Stammes  \  By  Dr.  Konrad  Maurer 

sum  Christenihume,  two  vols.  j  (Miinchen). 

Udsigt  over  den  Norske  Kirkes  Historie  }  By  Bishop  Dr.  A.  Chr.  Bang 

under  Katholicismen  }  (Christiania). 

De  Nordiske  Kirkers  Historie,  by  R.  T.  Nissen  (Christiania). 
Den  Nordiske  Kirkes  Grundlmgdse  }  _ 

ogflnh  UdvMmg  \  B?  A" D'  J^gensen  (Copenhagen). 

Den  Angelsaksiske  Kirkes  Inflydelse  }  _ 

p  J  &»  Norske.  \  ^  Absalon  TaranSer  (Ohnstiama). 

De  Norske  Klostres  Historie,  by  C.  C.  A.  Lange  (Christiania). 
Dm  Danske  Kirkes  Historie  } 

ftr  teformationen  \  ^  L'  HelveS  (Copenhagen). 

Norges  Helrjener,  by  Prof.  Ludvig  Daae  (Christiania). 
Passio  et  miracula  leati  Olaui,  edited  by  F.  Metcalfe,  M.A.  (Oxford, 

Clarendon  Press). 

Throndhjem  i  Fortid  og  Nutid  (997 — 1897).    Various  authors. 
Berqmfra  de  jfflldste  Tider  }  ,  _y 

MB  Nutidm.  \  ^  Professor  Dr'  Yn^var  Nielsen' 

Den  Sorte  D$d  i  del  Ude  Aarhundrede,  by  Dr.  A.  L.  Faye  (Chrisfciania). 
The  introduction  to  Laing's  translation  of  the  "  Heimskringla,"  by 

Rasmus  B.  Anderson,  in  four  vols.  (London),  1889. 


CHAPTEE    I. 

HEATHEN  NORWAY  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES. 

The  Coming  of  the  Northmen — Their  Religion — Temples — Festivals 
— Geographical  Divisions — Local  Government. 

THE  Norwegians  are  a  branch  of  the  great  stream  of 
Teutonic  migration,  which  flowed  from  its  original  home  in 
Asia  over  the  northern  part  of  Europe.  At  what  time 
these  invaders  displaced  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the 
Scandinavian  peninsula,  we  have  no  certain  means  of 
ascertaining,  though  some  have  affirmed  that  Odin  was  an 
historical  personage  who,  some  three  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era,  led  his  victorious  hosts  across  Europe.  We 
may  take  it,  however,  that  about  that  time  these  Teutonic 
tribes  crossed  the  narrow  seas  between  the  Scandinavian 
and  North  German  lands,  and  established  themselves  on  the 
great  peninsula.  Gradually  they  drove  back  the  primitive 
peoples  they  found  thinly  scattered  over  the  country,  men 
most  probably  of  Mongolian  origin,  and  whose  descendants 
still  survive  in  the  wandering  Finns  and  Lapps  of  the  far 
north  of  Norway  and  Sweden, 

The  entire  Scandinavian  peninsula  was  at  that  time 
largely  covered  with  dense  forests,  and  in  these  the  invaders 
established  themselves,  and  gradually  clearing  open  spaces, 
in  time  proceeded  to  cultivate  the  land.  Eventually  they 
worked  their  way  down  to  the  western  and  north-western 
coasts,  and  quickly  became  expert  in  seamanship,  and  in 
reaping  the  rich  harvest  which  the  well-stocked  waters 
of  the  North  Sea  afforded  them.  The  acquaintance  thus 
gained  with  the  ocean,  and  especially  the  tempestuous 

C.S.N.  B 


2  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

North  Sea,  soon  made  them  the  most  skilled  sailors  in 
Europe,  and  the  way  in  which  this  sea  power  was  in  later 
centuries  developed,  can  easily  be  traced  in  European 
history. 

Like  the  other  Teutonic  nations  of  whom  Tacitus  tells 
us,  they  were  all  free  men,  and  had  with  them  slaves  or 
thralls,  who  were  generally  captives  taken  in  war.  These 
were  mere  chattels,  and  their  lives  were  at  their  masters' 
disposal,  but  they  might,  and  sometimes  did,  obtain  their 
freedom. 

The  settlers  did  not  live  in  towns  or  villages,  but  each 
man  had  his  own  farm  or  gaard,  though,  for  protection's 
sake  in  earlier  times,  they  were  usually  not  very  far  off 
from  one  another.  This  absence  of  towns,  and  division  of 
the  land  into  freeholds,  was  a  characteristic  of  the  Nor- 
wegians, and  exercised  a  very  remarkable  influence  over 
their  subsequent  history ;  for  it  was  always  the  country 
parts,  and  not  the  towns,  where  the  preponderating  political 
power  lay,  and  the  free  landowners,  unfettered  by  feudalism, 
and  practically  without  an  aristocracy  (the  chiefs  were  only 
the  larger  landowners),  controlled  and  directed  the  policy 
of  the  nation,  meeting  in  the  assemblies,  or  Things,  where 
all  free  men  had  an  equal  voice. 

In  religion  they  were  practically  the  same  as  many  of 
the  other  Germanic  tribes,  but  we  have  the  advantage  of 
possessing  a  full  account  of  their  theories  of  the  Universe 
and  the  gods,  in  the  very  remarkable  early  literature  of 
Iceland  which  has  been  preserved  for  us.  In  the  older 
Edda,  which  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  mythology  of 
the  North,  we  have  the  V01uspaa  poem,  one  of  the  earliest 
and  most  picturesque  accounts  of  the  faith  of  the 
Northmen. 

As  the  heathen  beliefs  and  practices  must  naturally  have 
much  to  do  with  the  beginnings  of  Christianity  in  Norway, 
it  is  necessary  we  should  have  some  knowledge  of  them. 


HEATHEN  NORWAY.  3 

The  universe,  in  the  old  Norse  mythology,  was  divided 
into  Muspelheim  and  Niffelheim,  the  former  the  abode  of 
light  and  fire,  and  the  latter  a  dark  and  gloomy  land  of  ice 
and  snow.  Between  these  lay  Ginmmgagap,  a  swelling 
deep  "  without  form  and  void,"  and  in  which  there  was  no 
life.  Deep  down  in  Niffelheim  there  was  a  well  from 
which  an  ice-cold  stream  sprang,  and  flowed  into  Ginnun- 
gagap,  and  the  spray  from  this,  meeting  the  warmth  and 
fire  of  Muspelheim,  produced  the  Giant  or  Jotun,  Ymer  and 
his  cow  Audhumbla.  On  the  milk  of  this  cow  the  Jotun 
lived,  and  the  evil  race  of  the  Jotuns  sprang  from  him. 
The  cow  licked  the  salt  from  the  rocks,  whence  sprang 
Bure,  whose  grandson  was  Odin.  The  Giant  Ymer  was 
killed  by  Odin  and  his  brothers,  and  from  his  dead  body, 
which  was  cast  into  Ginnungagap,  the  world  was  formed. 
His  flesh  was  the  earth,  his  blood  the  sea,  his  hair  the  trees, 
his  bones  the  mountains,  etc.  All  of  the  race  of  Jotuns  were 
drowned  in  Ymer's  blood,  except  one  who  with  his  wife 
escaped  in  a  boat ;  their  descendants  were  allowed  to  live 
beyond  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  sea  in  Jotunheim.  The 
interior  of  the  earth  was  peopled  by  dwarfs  or  Trolds, 
usually  malign  spirits. 

The  earth  having  been  created  there  were  yet  no  men 
upon  it,  so  Odin  and  his  two  companions,  H0ner  and  L0der, 
went  down  to  it,  and  finding  two  trees,  formed  from  them 
the  first  man  and  woman,  Ask  and  Embla. 

The  home  of  the  Gods  was  Asgaard,  with  its  beautiful 
hall  Valhalla,  where  they  feasted  and  where  the  Valkyries 
attended  on  them,  and  did  their  bidding.  The  gods  were 
known  as  the  JEser,  or  Aser,  a  name  said  to  be  derived 
from  a  word  signifying  a  spiritual  being,  and  the  belief  in 
the  gods  was  called  the  Asatro. 

At  the  head  of  the  gods  was  Odin,  the  all-father,  whose 
wife  was  Frigg,  the  all-nourishing.  Their  son  was  Thor, 
the  Thunderer,  the  benefactor  of  the  world,  and  the  friend 

B  2 


4  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

of  mankind,  to  whom  the  Norwegians  seem  to  have  assigned 
a  higher  rank  than  Odin,  to  whom  the  other  Teutonic  tribes 
gave  the  highest  place.  Thor  was  the  relentless  foe  of  the 
Trolds  and  Jotuns,  against  whom  he  waged  war  with  his 
far-famed  hammer  Mj01nir. 

The  other  chief  JEser  were  Ni0rd,  the  giver  of  riches 
and  the  ruler  of  the  winds  and  protector  of  sailors.  His 
daughter  was  Freya,  the  Venus  of  the  North.  Then  there 
was  Baldur  the  Beautiful,  the  Sun  God,  who  was  killed  by 
the  evil  Loki,  one  of  the  race  of  the  Jotuns,  whom  the  gods 
had  taken  as  one  of  themselves.  Braga,  the  son  of  Odin, 
was  the  god  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

In  addition  to  these  and  many  others,  there  were  local 
gods  and  household  gods,  held  in  veneration  in  certain 
places,  and  not  universally  reckoned  amongst  the  inhabitants 
of  Asgaard,  and  only  worshipped  by  certain  families.  These 
survived  in  Norway  for  centuries  after  the  introduction  of 
Christianity,  though  of  course  only  worshipped  in  secret, 
and  the  household  divinities  actually  survived  down  to  our 
own  day,  and  may  possibly  still  exist. 

We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  Trolds,  the  spirits  of  the 
mountains  and  the  forests,  whose  power  was  always  dreaded, 
and  whom  the  people  were  always  ready  to  propitiate  with 
offerings.  Against  them,  as  we  have  seen,  Thor  waged 
war,  and  when  the  faith  of  the  "white  Christ"  vanquished 
the  Asatro,  we  find  St.  Olaf  takes  the  place  of  the  Thunderer 
as  their  opponent  and  conqueror.  Troldom  was  always  in 
Christian  times  an  offence  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  and 
we  find  constant  ecclesiastical  legislation  on  the  subject. 

The  worship  of  the  gods  was  probably  in  the  earliest 
days  conducted  in  the  open  air,  and  in  a  grove  of  trees, 
but  later  we  know  temples  or  Hovs  were  built,  and  these 
we  frequently  meet  with  in  the  first  days  of  Christianity 
in  Norway. 

The  temples  were  in  shape  very  much  the  same  as  the 


HEATHEN  NORWAY.  5 

earlier  Christian  churches,  and  there  seems  little  doubt 
that  some  of  them  were  adapted  to  Christian  worship  on 
the  overthrow  of  the  heathen  gods.  The  sites  of  the 
temples,  at  any  rate,  were  utilized  for  building  churches 
which  survive  down  to  our  own  day. 

The  Hov  usually  consisted  of  what  we  might  call  a 
nave  and  chancel  or  apse.  In  the  nave  there  was  one,  or 
sometimes  two  doors  which  were  placed  in  the  long  side  of 
the  building,  and  not  in  what  we  would  call  the  west  wall. 
In  the  centre  of  this  nave  there  was  a  large  flat  fireplace, 
where  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice  was  cooked  and  eaten,  the 
smoke  of  the  fire  escaping  through  holes  in  the  roof. 
Along  the  side  of  the  walls  ran  benches,  and  in  the  middle 
of  these,  or  sometimes  near  the  door,  were  what  were  called 
the  h0iscede  (high  seats)  with  their  stolper  or  pillars,  where 
the  chief  sat  who  officiated  at  the  sacrificial  rites.  In 
the  partially  enclosed  apse  or  chancel,  stood  the  altar  of 
sacrifice  which  was  placed  on  a  slight  elevation  above  the 
floor  of  the  building.  On  this  altar  the  victim,  usually  an 
animal,  sometimes  a  human  being,  was  slain  and  the  blood 
caught  in  copper  bowls  kept  for  the  purpose.  This  blood 
was  then  sprinkled  on  the  altar,  the  walls,  the  images,  and 
the  worshippers. 

On  the  altar  was  a  golden  ring  which  the  officiant 
carried  during  the  ceremonies,  and  on  it  all  oaths  were 
sworn  at  the  Thing.  Behind  the  altar  was  the  image  of 
the  principal  god,  usually  Thor,  and  ranged  in  a  semi-circle 
were  other  images. 

When  the  sacrifice  was  over,  the  flesh  of  the  victim 
was  cooked  in  great  pots  which  hung  over  the  fire,  and 
the  feast  began.  The  people  brought  their  own  supplies 
of  beer  as  well  as  the  animals  used  in  sacrifice.  There 
were  no  priests  as  a  separate  caste  (a  fact  which  had  a 
very  important  influence  afterwards  in  the  spread  of 
Christianity),  but  the  chief  man  of  the  district  acted  in 


6  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

that  capacity.*  When  the  feasting  began  the  horns  were 
filled  with  beer,  and  were  blessed  in  honour  of  the  gods. 
Then  the  skaals  were  drunk,  to  Odin  or  Thor  for  victory ; 
to  Ni0rd  and  Freya  for  good  crops  and  peace  ;  and  to 
Braga  for  the  souls  of  the  dead. 

There  were  three  great  festival  blots,  or  sacrifices,  held 
every  year  :  the  winter  blot,  on  October  14th,  the  mid- 
winter, or  Jul,  at  first  on  January  1 2th,  afterwards  transferred 
to  Christmas;|  and  lastly,  the  summer  blot,  on  April  14th. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  temples  built  of  wood,  there 
were  also  altars  which  were  erected  in  the  open  air ;  these 
were  called  H0rg,  and  the  word  still  survives  in  the  names 
of  several  places  in  Norway,  f 

The  temples  were  of  two  classes,  the  public  and  the 
private  ones.  The  former  were  the  Hovs,  belonging  to 
esichfylke  or  division  of  the  country,  and  these  were  again 
divided  into  herreds,  where  there  were  also  temples. 

The  other  class  consisted  of  what  might  be  called  private 
chapels,  where  some  wealthy  chief  kept  one  up  at  his  own 
expense.  The  public  ones  were  supported  by  landed 
property  assigned  to  them,  and  partly  by  taxation. 

The  temples  were  sacred,  and  any  one  desecrating  them 
or  breaking  the  peace  in  them  was  liable  to  outlawry. 
This  was  not  uncommon,  as  the  feasting  and  frequent 
skaals  drunk,  often  led  to  very  deadly  quarrels  in  the 
course  of  the  celebration  of  the  blots. 

Pilgrimages  were  made  to  the  more  famous  temples,  and 
were  undertaken  in  later  days  even  from  so  great  a  distance 
as  Iceland. 

Such  was  the  religion  of  the  Norwegians  in  the  ancient 
times,  and  we  have  given  these  particulars  with  regard  to 
it,  as  it  is  necessary  we  should  bear  them  in  mind  when 

*  These  offerings  might  also  be  made  by  women. 

t  See  p.  26. 

J  In  Voss  and  Hordaland,  also  in  names  of  mountains. 


HEATHEN  NORWAY.  7 

we  come  to  deal  with  the  struggle  between  the  forces  of 
heathenism  and  Christianity.  We  shall  see  that  the  early 
Christian  missionaries  were  fully  conscious  of  the  advis- 
ability of  adapting  as  far  as  they  could  the  heathen 
customs  to  Christian  usages,  and  making  the  transition 
as  easy  as  possible  for  their  rude  converts. 

In  order  to  follow  the  course  of  events  in  the  history  of 
Norway,  we  should  understand  something  of  the  geo- 
graphical divisions  of  the  country  in  mediaeval  times,  and 
carefully  study  the  map. 

In  the  early  days  the  whole  country  was  divided  into 
what  were  called  fylker,  literally  "  folk  land,"  the  districts 
inhabited  by  certain  folk.  These  districts  were  mostly 
greater  than  the  largest  of  the  English  shires  in  modern 
times,  but  they  varied  considerably  in  area.  They  corre- 
sponded somewhat  to  the  amis  into  which  Norway  is  now 
divided.  These  fylker  had  mostly  a  petty  king  or  chief 
over  them,  usually  the  largest  and  most  powerful  land- 
owner, but  to  him  the  people  paid  no  taxes — he  was  only 
their  chief  and  leader  in  time  of  war.  The  fylker  were 
again  subdivided  into  herreds  or  hundreds,  and  the  chief 
man  there  was  the  Herse. 

The  population  consisted  of  the  B0nder  and  their  thralls. 
It  is  difficult  to  find  an  English  word  which  will  accurately 
render  the  meaning  of  the  word  Bonde,  the  singular  of 
B0nder.  To  translate  it  as  some  have  done,  by  the  word 
peasant,  conveys  an  entirely  incorrect  meaning.  The 
Norwegian  Bonde  was  a  free  man  dwelling  on  his  own 
land,  having  no  lord  over  him  to  whom  he  was  under  any 
of  the  obligations  of  feudalism.  His  obligations  were  to 
defend  the  country  when  attacked,  and  to  contribute  to 
the  support  of  the  Hov.  This  tenure  of  the  land  was 
called  Odel,  and  any  attempts  to  interfere  with  it  met  with 
the  strongest  opposition.  The  B0nder,  however,  sometimes 
let  out  a  portion  of  their  land  which  they  might  not 


8  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

require,  to  others,  but  these  Leilcendinger,  as  they  were 
called,  were  also  free  men. 

In  all  the  subsequent  history,  it  is  important  to  bear  in 
mind  that  B0nder  were  really  the  depositaries  of  all  political 
power,  and  that  they  formed  a  class  which  was  in  many 
respects  unique  in  Europe.  In  later  days  their  power  was 
curtailed  and  reduced,  but  the  absence  in  Norway  of  the 
feudalism  which  prevailed  over  the  most  of  Europe  gave 
them  an  influence  in  the  history  of  their  land  which  was 
very  remarkable. 

Local  self-government  prevailed  in  Norway  from  the 
earliest  times.  The  B0nder  met  in  councils  called  Things, 
where  the  affairs  of  the  district  were  settled.  There  were 
Things  for  each  fylke  and  herred,  to  decide  the  more  local 
questions,  and  there  were  also  the  greater  assemblies  of  the 
people,  in  centres  where  many  of  the  fylker  were  grouped 
together,  and  where  the  laws  were  made.  Thus  we  find 
for  the  northern  fylker  there  was  the  great  Frosta  Thing, 
which  met  at  Frosta  on  the  Trondhjem  Fjord,  and  which 
legislated  for  Tr0ndelagen  and  Haalogaland ;  the  Gula 
Thiug  for  the  western  and  southern  fylker;  and  the 
Eidsiva  Thing  for  the  more  central  parts.  These  gatherings 
were  the  parliaments  of  Norway ;  at  them  the  kings  were 
chosen,  and  we  find  that,  in  order  to  secure  uniformity  in 
the  laws  proposed  by  the  early  Christian  kings,  they  were 
obliged  to  have  the  consent  of  each  of  these  assemblies  of 
the  free  men  of  Norway. 

In  the  early  days  the  northern  fylker,  and  especially  the 
fertile  district  of  Tr0ndelagen,  enjoyed  the  greatest  political 
power,  and  the  candidate  for  the  crown  who  secured  the 
adherence  of  the  Frosta  Thing  was  almost  certain  to  be 
successful  with  the  other  assemblies.  Tr0ndelagen  was  also 
the  stronghold  of  heathenism,  and  the  two  Olafs  met  there 
with  more  opposition  in  their  efforts  on  behalf  of 
Christianity  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  land. 


HEATHEN  NORWAY.  9 

The  far  north  of  Norway,  with  its  sparse  population  of 
Lapps  and  Finns,  had  practically  no  part  in  the  history  of 
the  country ;  it  remained  heathen  for  centuries  after  the 
rest  of  the  land  had  been  converted,  and  afforded  an  outlet 
for  the  crusading  zeal  of  the  kings,  in  the  days  when  the 
Saracens  were  left  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  Holy 
Land,  and  the  fierce  enthusiasm  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth 
centuries  had  passed  away. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  KINGDOM. 

Halfdan  the  Black — Harald  Haarfagre — The  Consolidation  of  the 
Kingdom — Internal  Government — Repressive  Measures  and  their 
Results — Harald's  Sons — Erik  Bloodaxe — Haakon — Harald's  Death 
and  Creed. 

IT  is  not  until  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  that  we 
begin  to  emerge  from  the  mythical  period  of  Norwegian 
history,  and  come  to  the  reign  of  Halfdan  Svarte,  or 
Halfdan  the  Black,  who  was  a  petty  king  over  the  region 
lying  to  the  west  and  north  of  what  is  now  the  Christiania 
Fjord,  but  at  that  time  known  as  Vestfold. 

His  father  was  Halfdan  Hvitbein  (the  white  leg),  who 
came  of  the  mythical  race  of  the  Ynglinger,  said  to  have 
been  descended  from  the  goddess  Freya.  This  race  came 
from  Sweden  and  settled  in  that  part  of  Norway  before 
mentioned.  Halfdan  Hvitbein  was  a  prudent  chief,  and 
encouraged  commerce  and  agriculture  in  his  dominions. 
Halfdan  the  Black  increased  his  father's  possessions  to  a 
considerable  extent  in  a  northern  direction,  and  was  the 
originator  of  the  famous  Eidsiva  law,  which  was,  for  many 
generations,  the  law  for  that  part  of  Norway,  as  the  Frosta 
law  was  for  Tr0ndelagen.  This  collection  of  laws  derived 
its  name  from  having  been  promulgated  at  the  Thing  held 
at  Eidsvold,  a  spot  close  to  the  southern  end  of  the  great 
Mi0sen  lake,  and  where  the  present  constitution  of  Norway 
was  drawn  up  in  1814. 

In  860,  Halfdan  was  returning  from  a  feast  at  Hadeland 
in  the  spring  of  the  year,  and  when  crossing  the  Eands 
Fjord  at  K0kenvik,  the  ice,  which  was  then  beginning  to 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  KINGDOM.  11 

thaw,  gave  way  under  the  royal  sledge.  His  retainers,  rushing 
to  his  rescue,  only  made  matters  worse,  and  the  king  and 
his  immediate  followers  were  drowned.  His  death  was  the 
cause  of  much  grief  to  his  people,  who  had  enjoyed  under 
his  rule  a  time  of  great  prosperity,  and  a  succession  of  good 
harvests,  a  manifest  proof  of  the  favour  of  the  gods.  In 
order  to  secure  a  continuance  of  these  benefits,  they  decided 
to  divide  his  body  into  four  portions,  and  to  bury  them  in 
different  parts  of  his  dominions. 

Halfdan  left  behind  him  an  only  son,  named  Harald, 
then  a  child  of  only  ten  years  of  age.  His  mother  was 
Eagnhild,  a  wise  and  prudent  woman,  and  granddaughter 
of  Harald  Klak,  King  of  Jutland.  Before  her  son's  birth 
she  dreamt  that  she  was  holding  a  thorn  in  her  hand, 
which  grew  to  be  a  great  tree  which  struck  its  roots  deep 
down  into  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  which  reached  to 
heaven.  It  had  wide-spreading  branches,  which  covered 
the  whole  of  Norway  and  the  countries  around  it.  The 
lower  part  of  the  tree  was  red  as  blood,  and  the  branches 
above  were  white  as  snow. 

The  child  whose  future  greatness  was  thus  foreshadowed 
by  the  dream  was  the  far-famed  Harald  Haarfagre,  the 
founder  of  the  kingdom  of  Norway,  and  progenitor  of  a 
race  of  kings  which,  with  a  few  brief  interruptions,  ruled 
over  Norway  for  close  upon  four  hundred  years. 

The  early  days  of  Harald  were  passed  under  the  wise 
guidance  and  direction  of  his  uncle  Guthorm,  who  skilfully 
piloted  the  youthful  monarch  through  the  various  dangers 
to  which  he  was  exposed,  and  reduced  to  submission  many 
of  the  neighbouring  petty  kings. 

When  Harald  grew  to  manhood  he  sought  as  his  wife 
the  beautiful  Gyda,  daughter  of  King  Erik  of  Hordaland. 
She  declined  his  advances,  and  declared  she  would  marry 
none  of  these  petty  kings.  She  told  the  king's  messengers 
to  carry  back  to  him  her  final  decision  :  "I  will  not  be  his 


12  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

wife  until,  for  my  sake,  he  has  conquered  the  whole  of 
Norway."  When  Harald  received  this  message  he  declared 
that  Gyda  had  spoken  well.  "  I  call  God,  who  made  me, 
to  witness,"  he  said,  "that  never  will  I  have  my  hair  cut 
or  combed  until  I  have  conquered  the  whole  of  Norway, 
with  skat,  duties,  and  lordships,  or  die  in  the  attempt." 

Harald  kept  his  word.  Aided  by  his  uncle  and  the 
famous  Jarl,  Ragnvald  of  M0re  (the  district  now  known  as 
Nordm0re,  Romsdal,  and  S0ndm0re),  and  his  own  great 
courage  and  strength,  he  rapidly  conquered  one  petty 
kingdom  after  another,  and  defeating  the  jarls  or  kings 
who  ruled  over  them,  soon  consolidated  his  kingdom.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  after  the  great  naval  battle  of 
Hafrsfjord,  near  Stavanger  (872),  that  the  opposition  of 
the  local  rulers  was  crushed  and  Harald  everywhere 
acknowledged  as  overlord  of  Norway.  Immediately  after 
the  battle  his  long  and  matted  hair  was  cut  by  Ragnvald 
Jarl,  and  his  bright  golden  locks  gained  him  the  name  of 
the  Fair-haired,  or  Haarfagre.  Soon  after  this  he  claimed 
the  hand  of  the  scornful  beauty  who  had  declined  his  suit 
in  his  earlier  days. 

When  he  had  established  his  kingdom  he  quickly  made 
his  power  everywhere  felt;  lawlessness  of  all  kinds  was 
repressed  with  a  stern  hand,  and  the  poor  and  the  oppressed 
looked  up  to  the  king  with  gratitude,  and  were  ready  to 
defend  him  against  all  comers. 

Harald,  however,  decided  to  introduce  changes  which 
were  distasteful  to  both  the  B0nder  and  the  Jarls,  and  the 
enforcement  of  which  led  to  very  important  results  for  other 
nations  besides  his  own.  The  land  of  Norway,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  held  by  what  was  called  Odel  tenure  ;  in  other 
words,  the  owners  were  free  from  payment  of  skat,  and 
were  only  obliged,  when  called  upon,  to  follow  their  leaders 
in  the  defence  of  the  land  from  the  attacks  of  enemies. 

The  king  wished  them  to  hold  their  land  as  fiefs  from 


THE   FOUNDING   OF  THE  KINGDOM.  13 

the  crown,  and  this  naturally  provoked  much  hostility. 
Over  each  fylke,  or  group  of  fylker,  the  king  appointed  a 
jarl,  and  extorted  from  the  unwilling  people  the  payment 
of  skat,  or  tribute.  He  also  further  compelled  the  chief 
men  in  the  districts  to  take  service  under  him,  and  become 
a  part  of  his  immediate  following. 

Changes  of  this  nature  were  not  likely  to  be  quietly 
acquiesced  in  by  a  people  so  independent  as  the  hardy 
Norwegian  B0nder,  but  the  power  of  the  king  was  too 
great  to  admit  of  successful  resistance,  and  the  alternative 
lay  between  submission  to  the  royal  authority  or  migration. 
Many  of  the  chiefs  and  principal  men  chose  the  latter. 
They  took  ship  and  left  their  native  land,  and  established 
themselves  in  the  Shetlands,  Orkneys,  and  Hebrides. 
Others  went  further  and,  after  various  raids,  founded  a 
kingdom  in  Dublin,  and  settlements  in  various  places  on 
the  Irish  coast  as  well  as  the  Isle  of  Man.  They  also 
established  themselves  on  the  Fseroe  Islands,  where  pre- 
viously Irish  monks  had  made  a  home  for  themselves.  The 
most  important  settlement,  however,  was  made  in  Iceland, 
where  an  independent  state  was  founded,  which  in  later 
years  became  famous  for  its  learning  and  literature,  and 
from  whence  the  colonization  of  Greenland  and  part  of  the 
coast  of  North  America  was  carried  out. 

Another  of  Harald  Haarfagre's  reforms  led  to  results 
which  may  be  said  to  have  permanently  affected  the 
history  of  Europe.  It  was  customary  for  those  who  fitted 
out  Viking  expeditions  to  levy  enforced  contributions  in 
money  and  kind  from  the  people  along  the  coast ;  these 
extortions  were  known  as  strandhug.  Harald,  with  the 
intention  of  protecting  his  people,  sternly  forbade  the  prac- 
tice, and  decreed  outlawry  as  the  punishment  for  a  breach 
of  his  law.  A  notable  offender  was  soon  forthcoming. 
Eagnvald  Jarl,  the  king's  greatest  supporter,  and  the 
champion  of  his  early  days,  had  a  son  named  Eolf,  who, 


14  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

from  his  great  size  and  weight,  and  because  none  of  the 
small  Norwegian  horses  or  ponies  could  carry  him,  received 
the  surname  of  the  Ganger,  or  walker.  This  man  was 
one  of  the  boldest  spirits  in  the  Viking  days,  and  on  one 
occasion,  when  coming  home  from  an  expedition,  he  allowed 
his  followers  to  make  a  raid  on  the  cattle  and  goods  of 
the  farmers  in  Viken.  A  weaker  king  might  have  hesi- 
tated to  enforce  the  law  against  the  son  of  his  old  friend. 
But  Harald  did  not  hesitate.  The  law  must  be  obeyed ; 
and  Kolf  the  Ganger  was  banished  from  Norway.  He  went 
to  what  was  then  known  as  Neustria,  and  extorted  the 
concession  of  a  "  Danelag  "  from  Charles  III.  A  century 
and  a  half  later  his  descendant,  William  Duke  of  Normandy, 
sat  on  the  throne  of  England.  Had  strandhug  not  been 
illegal,  or  had  a  weaker  monarch  than  Harald  Haarfagre 
ruled  over  Norway,  how  different  might  have  been  the 
history  and  destiny  of  England  ! 

Harald  had  a  numerous  family  by  his  different  wives, 
and  towards  the  end  of  his  long  reign  he  adopted  the  very 
unwise  expedient  of  dividing  his  kingdom  among  them, 
but  leaving  his  eldest  and  favourite  son  Erik,  who  was  sur- 
named  Blod0kse  (Bloodaxe),  from  his  prowess  in  war,  as  over- 
lord of  the  various  smaller  kingdoms.  Such  an  arrangement 
led  to  its  natural  results.  Erik  determined  to  overthrow 
the  power  of  his  brothers,  and  caused  Bj0rn  Farmand 
(the  Merchant),  who  ruled  over  the  district  about  T0nsberg, 
to  be  treacherously  murdered.  He  proceeded  to  attack 
Half  dan,  who  was  king  in  Tr0ndelagen,  but  the  latter  was 
warned  in  time,  and  collecting  men  and  ships,  made  so  good 
a  defence  that  Erik  was  forced  to  go  to  his  father  for  pro- 
tection. After  this  a  truce  was  arranged  by  friends  on 
both  sides,  and  thus  for  a  time  things  resumed  a  more 
peaceful  condition. 

In  921,  Harald  in  his  old  age,  had  a  son  by  a  mistress 
named  Thora  of  Moster,  who,  from  her  great  height,  was 


THE  FOUNDING   OF  THE  KINGDOM.  15 

known  as  Moster  stang,  or  pole.  This  son  was  named 
Haakon,  and  his  appearance  on  the  scene  was  naturally- 
displeasing  to  the  other  sons  of  the  king,  who  had  grown 
to  man's  estate,  and  were  to  divide  the  kingdom  between 
them.  Harald  saw  the  danger  to  which  the  boy's  life 
would  be  exposed  if  he  allowed  him  to  remain  in  Norway, 
so  he  sent  him  to  England,  while  still  a  very  little  child,  to 
the  court  of  Athelstan,  where  he  remained  until  his  father's 
death.  In  England  the  child  was  baptized  and  brought  up 
as  a  Christian,  and  afterwards  was  the  means  of  first 
bringing  Christianity  into  Norway. 

In  930,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  the  old  King  decided  to 
surrender  all  his  authority  into  the  hands  of  Erik,  and  to 
carry  into  force  the  arrangement  which  he  had  made  before. 
Three  years  afterwards  he  died  at  his  residence  at  Hauge, 
close  to  the  present  town  of  Haugesund,  a  little  to  the  north 
of  Stavanger.  Where  he  died,  there  he  was  buried.  On  a 
mound  overlooking  the  sea,  and  swept  by  the  winds  of  the 
Northern  Ocean,  the  greatest  man  that  Norway  had  yet  seen 
was  laid  to  rest.  On  the  top  of  the  mound  which  was  heaped 
over  the  body  of  the  great  warrior  and  ruler,  the  usual 
bautasten,  or  memorial  stone,  was  erected  ;  and  in  after  days, 
when  his  descendants  sailed  along  the  coast  in  their  war  ships 
to  battle  against  foreign  enemies  or  rebellious  subjects,  they 
saw  it  from  afar,  and  remembered  the  man  who  had  welded 
into  one  the  divided  kingdoms  of  Norway,  and  made  it  for 
the  first  time  one  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  In  days  of 
anarchy  and  oppression,  when  Danish  or  other  races  sought 
for  supremacy  over  Norway,  men  turned  to  the  descendants 
of  Harald  the  Fair-haired,  thinking  that  of  his  line  there 
must  ever  be  a  ruler  and  a  chief,  who  would  bring  back  to 
them  again,  the  days  when  justice  to  all  would  be  neither 
"  sold,  delayed,  or  denied,"  and  when  Norway  would  be 
united  under  its  own  king. 

During   the  long   reign   of  Harald,   Norway    remained 


16  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

altogether  pagan.  The  king  himself  seems  to  have  had 
but  little  faith  in  the  old  gods,  though  he  conformed  to 
all  the  usages  connected  with  the  heathen  sacrifices  at  the 
three  great  feasts  of  the  year — in  January,  April,  and 
October.  He  had  doubtless  heard  and  known  of  the 
Christian  faith  from  his  intercourse  with  England  and 
Denmark ;  but  he  seems,  if  the  Sagas  are  to  be  trusted, 
to  have  had  a  comparatively  simple  and  characteristic 
creed :  "  He  believed  in  the  God  who  was  the  strongest 
and  had  created  all  things  and  ruled  all  things." 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  FIRST  CONTACT  WITH  CHRISTIANITY. 

The  Religious  Results  of  Viking  Cruises — Northmen  in  the  British 
Isles — Enforced  Baptism — Half  Christianity — The  Missions  from 
Hamburg  and  Bremen — Ansgar's  Life  and  Work. 

IN  order  to  understand  the  way  in  which  the  heathen 
Norwegians  first  learned  of  the  Christian  faith,  it  is  necessary 
to  retrace  our  steps.  It  was  in  the  last  quarter  of  the 
eighth  century,  or  about  eighty  or  ninety  years  before  the 
accession  of  Harald  Haarfagre,  that  the  Viking  expeditions 
began,  which,  for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  made  the 
Northmen  the  terror  of  North-Western  Europe,  and  of 
certain  districts  in  the  Mediterranean  as  well.  The  adven- 
turous chiefs  from  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  set  forth 
in  their  long  ships,  each  rowed  by  from  twenty  to  forty 
men,  and  passing  quickly  over  the  waters  of  the  North  Sea, 
began  to  harry  the  coasts  of  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and 
Northern  France. 

Readers  of  English  history  are  familiar  with  the  entry  in 
the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  under  the  year  787,  which  tells 
of  the  first  appearance  of  these  dreaded  foes  ;  and  we  know 
the  way  in  which,  from  being  at  first  mere  marauding  expedi- 
tions, they  were  continued  unti]  settlements  and  kingdoms 
were  established  in  the  north-east  of  England,  the  Ork- 
neys and  Shetlands,  Dublin,  and  the  Isle  of  Man.  We  are, 
however,  not  concerned  so  much  with  the  political  as  the 
religious  results  of  these  expeditions,  for  they  were  the 
means  by  which,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  the  heathen 
Norwegians  were  first  brought  in  contact  with  Christianity. 

In  England  and  Ireland  they  came  to  countries  where, 
C.S.N.  c 


18  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

especially  in  the  latter,  the  Christian  faith  had  for  some 
centuries  entirely  possessed  the  land,  and  had  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  tamed  the  wilder  passions  of  the  Saxon 
and  Keltic  races.  When  the  warriors  came  ashore  from 
their  ships  the  churches  and  monasteries  naturally  offered 
a  tempting  prey  on  account  of  their  unprotected  state,  and 
the  Northmen  quickly  availed  themselves  of  the  treasure 
which  they  found  there.  They  also  undoubtedly  learned  of 
the  Christian  faith  from  the  captives  they  had  taken,  and 
from  seeing  something,  as  they  often  did,  during  more 
peaceful  visits,  of  the  stately  worship  and  ritual  of  the 
Church,  which  was  not  without  its  influence  on  the  fierce 
Northmen. 

The  tenets  of  Christianity,  however,  did  not  naturally 
commend  themselves  to  those  who  placed  fighting  in  the 
very  forefront  of  the  duty  of  man,  and  to  whom  the  clash 
of  arms  and  the  carnage  of  the  battle  would  appeal  more 
forcibly  than  the  most  stately  service  of  the  Church,  with 
all  the  accessories  of  music  and  banners. 

In  places  where  the  invaders  settled  for  the  winter, 
instead  of  returning  back,  or  where,  for  one  or  another 
cause,  they  were  detained,  there  were  not  wanting  faithful 
priests,  who,  taking  their  lives  in  their  hands,  tried  to  win 
the  fierce  Vikings  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  at  least,  so  far  as 
to  consent  to  be  baptized,  or  if  they  would  not  do  that,  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  what  was  called  primsigne  (prima 
signatio),  signed  with  the  cross,  a  sort  of  half-way  house  to 
Christianity. 

In  these  efforts  they  were  not  infrequently  successful, 
but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  compliance  with  the 
entreaties  of  the  priests  and  others,  did  not  at  all  necessarily 
imply  the  acceptance  of  a  real  faith  in  Christianity.  On 
the  contrary,  we  know  that  when  the  Viking  marauders 
found  themselves  in  a  position  from  which  they  could  not 
well  extricate  themselves,  and  were  surrounded  by  their 


FIRST   CONTACT   WITH   CHRISTIANITY.  10 

enemies,  it  was  not  at  all  uncommon  for  the  chief  and  his 
followers  to  allow  themselves  to  be  baptized  en  masse,  as  it 
usually  offered  a  way  of  escape,  and  further  enriched  them 
with  presents  of  handsome  baptismal  robes.  Indeed,  it 
appears  an  undoubted  fact  that  it  was  not  an  unknown 
thing  for  Viking  chiefs  and  their  followers  to  be  baptized 
several  times  over  in  different  countries  or  places. 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  there  were  genuine  conversions 
to  Christianity  among  the  Norwegians,  but  many  of  the 
earliest  baptisms  were  of  the  nature  described. 

When,  however,  after  some  years  the  Norwegians  and 
Northmen  settled  themselves  in  districts  they  had  con- 
quered, then  real  progress  was  made  in  the  propagation 
of  the  faith,  and  they  became,  as  in  Dublin,  in  Cumbria,  and 
the  Danelag,  as  faithful  and  earnest  Christians  as  those 
who  had  taught  them  the  faith. 

This,  however,  was  outside  the  Norwegian  kingdom. 
In  Norway  it  only  helped  to  break  down  the  ancient  faith 
in  the  gods.  Many  of  the  great  men,  like  King  Harald 
Haarfagre,  were  indifferent  to  the  old  religion,  and  only 
believed  in  the  God  who  was  the  strongest  and  ruled  all. 

Some  of  the  Vikings  followed  a  middle  course,  like  that 
adopted  by  the  colonists  whom  the  kings  of  Assyria 
placed  in  the  cities  of  Samaria.  They  were  baptized  and 
they  took  Christ  into  their  worship.  The  Sagas  tell  us  of 
one  of  these,  Helge  the  Thin,  of  Iceland,  who  had  thus 
been  converted.  When  he  was  ashore  on  his  farm  he 
worshipped  Christ,  but  when  he  was  at  sea,  or  in  any 
position  of  danger,  he  offered  his  prayers  and  sacrifices  to 
Thor. 

It  may  be  wondered  why  it  was  that  Christianity  r\\fl_ 

not  first  come  tojjorjya.y  from  the  Soutlyinstead  of  from 

Jhe  British  jsles.;  but  the  explanation  is  not  a  difficult  one. 

The  latter  countries  had  already  been  christianized,  while 

between  Norway  and  the  Christianity  of  the  revived  Western 


20  CHURCH   AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Empire  there  was  still  a  solid  mass  of  heathenism.  The 
Kaiser,  Karl  the  Great,  after  reducing  the  Saxons  to 
submission,  was  anxious  to  bring  the  Northern  nations  to 
Christianity,  partly  from  religious  and  partly  from  political 
motives,  so  that  he  might  be  made  more  secure  from  attack. 
Nothing,  however,  seems  to  have  been  done  in  his  day,  but 
under  Ludvig  the  Pious  an  attempt  was  made  to  evange- 
lize the  Danes,  and  he  appealed  to  Ebbo,  the  Archbishop 
of  Eheims,  to  send  a  missionary  to  them.  The  Pope 
(Paschal  I.)  also  wrote  a  letter  commending  the  work. 
Such,  however,  was  the  terror  which  spread  over  the 
north-west  of  Europe  at  the  ravages  of  the  Vikings,  that 
at  first  no  one  was  found  to  volunteer,  until  at  last  the 
famous  Ansgar,  "the  Apostle  of  the  North,"  a  monk  of 
Corvei,  near  Amiens,  undertook  the  task. 

He  began  his  work  in  Holstein,  accompanied  by  his 
faithful  friend  Autbert.  After  two  years'  labours  he  was 
obliged  to  flee  to  the  court  of  the  Emperor,  and  the  work 
appeared  to  have  failed.  Just  at  that  time,  however, 
Bj0rn,  the  King  of  Sweden,  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Kaiser 
asking  for  a  Christian  teacher,  and  Ansgar  was  sent  in  830. 
After  various  adventures  and  dangers,  Ansgar  reached  Birk 
(Sigtuna),  and  laboured  with  much  success  for  a  year  and 
a  half,  when  he  returned  with  a  letter  to  the  Kaiser. 
Ludvig  saw  the  importance  of  establishing  an  episcopal 
see  near  to  the  mission  field,  and  selected  Hamburg  as 
the  spot,  and  in  834  Ansgar  was  consecrated  as  Arch- 
bishop by  the  Archbishop  of  Metz  and  several  other 
prelates.  Shortly  afterwards  Gautbert  was  consecrated 
Bishop  of  Sweden. 

Thus  the  work  progressed,  but  troubles  were  yet  to  come. 
In  845  the  heathen  King  Erik,  of  Jylland,  in  Denmark, 
attacked  Hamburg  and  burned  the  cathedral,  library,  and 
monastery  to  the  ground,  and  Ansgar  escaped  only  with 
his  life.  The  Swedes  at  the  same  time  attacked  Gautbert 


FIRST  CONTACT  WITH  CHRISTIANITY.  21 

and  destroyed  his  mission.  Ludvig  the  Pious  was  now 
dead,  and  his  sons  divided  the  Empire,  Ludvig  the  German 
having  the  portion  which  most  concerned  Ansgar. 

At  this  time  the  bishopric  of  Bremen  was  vacant,  and 
Ludvig  decided  to  transfer  the  archiepiscopal  see  to  that 
town  in  849,  and  it  was  made  the  metropolitan  see  for  the 
Northern  nations,  and  independent  of  Koln,  in  which  it 
was  formerly  situated. 

The  work  again  prospered.  King  Erik,  the  destroyer  of 
Hamburg,  became  favourable  to  Christianity,  and  granted 
a  place  for  a  church  in  Slesvig,  where,  in  850,  the  first 
church  in  Denmark  was  erected,  and  dedicated  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin.  In  856  Ansgar's  active  life  ended  at  the 
comparatively  early  age  of  sixty-four. 

Thus  it  happened  that  Christianity  had  gained  a  hold  in 
Sweden  and  Denmark  a  considerable  time  before  it  first 
appeared  in  Norway ;  but  it  is  strange  that  there  was 
practically  no  attempt  made  to  christianize  Norway  from 
either  Denmark  or  Sweden.  To  the  British  Isles,  to 
England  especially,  the  honour  of  having  brought  the 
faith  of  Christ  to  Norway  is  almost  entirely  due,  and  the 
Church  in  Norway  was  a  daughter  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Church. 

A  notice  of  the  foundation  of  the  metropolitan  see  of 
Bremen  is  necessary  here,  as  it  was  for  a  considerable 
period,  the  province  in  which  the  Norwegian  Church  was 
situated ;  and  to  the  famous  Chronicle  of  Adam  of  Bremen 
we  are  indebted  for  many  interesting  references  to  early 
Christianity  in  Norway. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HAAKON  THE  GOOD  AND  THE  FIRST  ATTEMPT  TO 
INTRODUCE  CHRISTIANITY. 

Erik  and  Gunhild's  unpopularity — Coming  of  Haakon — Erik  driven 
out — Haakon  a  Christian — His  tentative  Efforts  on  behalf  of  the 
Faith — Formal  Attempt  at  the  Frosta  Thing — Its  Failure — Haakon's 
Lapse,  his  Death,  and  Burial. 

ON  the  death  of  Harald  Haarfagre,  in  933,  his  eldest  son, 
Erik  Blod0kse,  became  overlord  of  Norway,  in  accordance 
with  the  arrangement  made  by  his  father.  He  was  a  cruel 
and  overbearing  man,  but  of  undoubted  courage  in  battle, 
as  his  surname  implies.  He  was  never  popular  with  the 
people,  and  the  murder  of  his  brother  Bj0rn  made  it 
plain  that  he  intended,  when  he  had  the  opportunity,  to 
murder  or  drive  away  his  other  brothers  from  the  small 
kingdoms  their  father  had  allotted  to  them,  and  to  become, 
as  his  father  had  been  before  him,  the  sole  king  in  the  land. 

The  unpopularity  of  Erik  was  increased  tenfold  by  reason 
of  his  queen  Gunhild,  whom  he  had  married  several  years 
before.  She  was  a  native  of  Haalogaland  and  renowned 
for  her  beauty,  and  Erik  had  met  her  in  one  of  his  northern 
journeys.  In  addition  to  her  beauty,  she  is  said  to  have 
possessed  the  very  doubtful  recommendation  of  a  knowledge 
of  sorcery,  which  she  had  learned  from  the  Finns  of  the 
North,  and  this  did  not  tend  to  increase  her  popularity. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever,  that  she  was  a  wicked 
and  ambitious  woman,  who,  playing  the  part  of  a  Northern 
Jezebel  in  the  royal  court,  proved  the  king's  evil  genius. 

The  tyrannical  rule  of  Erik,  and  the  universal  hatred 
with  which  his  wife  was  regarded,  provoked  discontent  on 


HAAKON  THE  GOOD.  23 

all  sides,  and  in  little  more  than  a  year    he  was  driven 
from  the  land. 

When  King  Harald  Haarfagre  died,  there  was  living  at 
the  court  of  Atheist  an  his  youngest  son  Haakon,  who,  as 
we  have  seen,  had  been  dispatched  thither  for  safety  by 
the  old  king.  During  his  residence  in  England  he  had 
been  baptized  and  brought  up  in  the  Christian  faith. 
When  his  father  died,  in  933,  he  was  a  lad  of  about 
fourteen,  but  tall  and  handsome,  and  bearing  a  very  striking 
resemblance  to  his  fair-haired  father.  When  tidings  of 
Harald's  death  reached  England,  Athelstan  at  once  deter- 
mined to  supply  his  foster-son  with  the  equipment  necessary 
to  enable  him  to  proceed  to  Norway  and  claim  his  share 
in  his  father's  kingdom.  Among  the  many  gifts  bestowed 
by  the  king  upon  the  young  prince,  we  read  of  a  magni- 
ficent sword,  with  a  hilt  of  gold  and  a  blade  of  such 
strength  and  temper,  that  it  would  cleave  a  millstone ; 
from  this  fact  it  was  given  the  name  of  Kvernbit  (the 
quern  cutter),  and  it  never  failed  Haakon  in  any  battle 
during  the  whole  of  his  long  and  adventurous  career. 
With  ships  and  men  supplied  by  the  English  king,  the 
young  chief  set  sail  for  his  native  land  and  proceeded  at 
once  to  Tr0ndelagen,  to  the  great  chief  Sigurd  Jarl  of 
Hlade,  a  spot  close  to  the  present  city  of  Trondhjem, 
which  at  that  time  was  not  yet  in  existence. 

The  powerful  jarl  at  once  espoused  the  cause  of  Haakon, 
from  whom  he  received  the  promise  of  greatly  extended 
power,  when  he  obtained  the  kingdom.  The  first  step  to 
be  taken  was  to  summon  the  Thing  to  meet,  which  Sigurd 
lost  no  time  in  doing.  When  the  b0nder  were  assembled, 
Sigurd  addressed  them  on  Haakon 's  behalf,  and  presented 
the  young  prince  to  them.  When  he  began  to  speak  the 
older  men  at  once  recognized  him  as  a  true  son  of  Haar- 
fagre, and  cried  out  with  joy  that  it  was  the  old  monarch 
who  had  become  young  once  more. 


24  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Haakon,  doubtless  under  the  wise  guidance  of  Sigurd, 
promised  the  people  that  if  they  helped  him  to  gain  the 
kingdom,  he  would  restore  the  much-prized  Odel  rights,  of 
which  they  had  been  deprived  by  his  father,  whose  action 
in  this  respect  had  been  most  unpopular  among  the  b0nder, 
and  which  only  the  strong  hand  of  Harald  had  been  able 
to  enforce. 

The  promise  of  this  great  concession  settled  the  matter, 
with  one  accord  the  people  at  the  Thing  took  him  as  king. 
With  the  help  of  Sigurd  Jarl  the  conflict  did  not  last  long ; 
the  hatred  of  King  Erik,  and  especially  of  Queen  Gunhild, 
was  so  intense  that  few  were  found  to  defend  his  cause,  and 
in  little  more  than  a  year,  in  935,  Erik  and  Gunhild  were 
driven  from  Norway,  and  took  refuge  at  first  in  Denmark. 
From  thence  Erik  passed  into  England,  and  received  the 
kingdom  of  Northumbria  from  Athelstan,  and  afterwards 
(in  the  reign  of  Edmund)  fell  in  the  battle  of  Stainmoor, 
the  exact  date  of  which  is  uncertain,  but  it  was  probably 
fought  between  950  and  954.* 

When  Haakon's  authority  as  overlord  of  Norway  was 
everywhere  accepted,  and  he  had  made  the  people  happy 
and  contented  by  the  removal  of  their  grievances,  he  felt 
the  time  had  come  to  attempt  the  formal  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  Norway,  by  securing  its  recognition  at  the 
Things. 

In  many  ways  it  was  a  favourable  moment.  The  Viking 
expeditions  had  made  Christianity  known  to  many,  and  if 
they  were  not  prepared  to  accept  the  new  faith,  at  any  rate 
their  belief  in  the  old  gods  of  their  forefathers  was  shaken, 
and  the  great  personal  popularity  of  the  king  was  much  in 
his  favour.  It  is  true  that  his  chief  supporter,  the  great 
Jarl  of  Hlade,  was  still  a  zealous  heathen,  but  his  loyalty 
to  his  young  monarch  was  undoubted,  and  in  the  subsequent 

*  "  The  Battle  of  Stainmoor,"  by  W.  G.  Collingwood,  in  the  Cumber- 
land and  Westmoreland  Antiquarian  Society's  "  Transactions,"  Vol.  II. 


HAAKON  THE  GOOD.  25 

struggles  he  saved  him  in  many  moments  of  great  personal 
danger. 

It  seems  most  reasonable  to  believe  that  amongst  the 
retinue  with  which  his  English  foster-father  had  supplied 
him,  there  would  probably  have  been  found  at  least  one 
priest,  who  would  carry  on  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
young  prince,  and  also  that  a  considerable  number,  if  not  all, 
of  his  English  supporters  were  Christians.  When  Haakon's 
power  was  established,  very  likely  many  of  these  returned 
to  England,  and  the  king  was  left  with  but  a  few  Christians 
in  his  immediate  following.  The  personal  influence  of 
Haakon  seems  to  have  induced  a  few  of  his  heathen 
subjects  to  be  baptized,  and  to  abandon  the  old  sacrifices. 

When  this  was  done  Haakon  took  a  more  decisive  step. 
He  sent  a  message  to  England  to  ask  that  a  bishop  and 
priests  should  be  sent  out  to  Norway  to  aid  him  in  his  work. 

We  have  no  certain  means  of  knowing  whether  a  bishop 
responded  to  this  invitation,  but  there  is  a  list  given  by 
William  of  Malmesbury  in  "  De  Antiquitate  Glastoniensis 
Ecclesise,"  of  bishops  who  had  been  monks  of  that  famous 
foundation;  amongst  them  we  find  the  name  of  "  Sigefridus 
Norwegensis  Episcopus."  There  are  many  conflicting 
opinions  as  to  the  identity  of  this  man  with  Haakon's 
helper.  Three  other  bishops  have  been  claimed  as  William's 
"Norwegensis  Episcopus."  * 

It  is  plainly  stated  by  Snorre  that  Haakon  had  churches 
built,  and  placed  priests  to  minister  in  them,  and  these 
churches  were  erected  in  the  M0re  and  Romsdal  districts 
where  Haakon  chiefly  resided.  They  were  probably  only 
wooden  churches,  and  they  quickly  perished  after  the  failure 
of  Haakon  to  procure  the  recognition  of  Christianity.  The 
bishop  and  priests  were  either  murdered  or  fled  back  again  to 
England. 

At  the  commencement  of  his  reign  Haakon  had  not  taken 

*  See  Appendix  I. 


26  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

any  official  part  in  the  usual  sacrifices  to  the  gods,  but  this 
did  not  excite  suspicion  because  it  was  understood  that  being 
only  a  lad  he  wished  those  duties  to  be  performed  by 
deputy,  which  was  accordingly  done.  Haakon,  however, 
did  nothing  rashly,  and  wisely  decided  not  to  force 
Christianity  on  his  people  all  at  once.  Among  various 
tentative  measures  he  secured  (apparently  without  opposi- 
tion) the  transference  of  the  great  Julefest,  held  early  in 
January,  to  the  time  of  the  Christian  festival  of  Christmas, 
and  made  its  duration  the  same. 

Thus  the  years  passed  by,  and  Haakon  waited  for  his 
opportunity.     In   or   about   the   year    950,    after   having 
reigned  for  sixteen  years,  and  having  had  for  some  time  the 
government  in  his  own  hands,  he  felt  he  was  strong  enough 
to  make  the  attempt.      His  first  step  was  to  bring  the 
question  before  the  local   Things  in  M0re  and   Komsdal 
districts,  in  which  he  frequently  resided,   and  where   he 
felt  his  personal  influence  would  be  considerable.     These 
assemblies,  however,  seeing  the  importance  of  the  question, 
excused  themselves  on  the  ground  that  it  lay  beyond  their 
powers,  and  should  be  considered  by  the  great  Frosta  Thing 
to  whose  laws  they  were  subject.     To  this  Haakon  agreed, 
and  prepared  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  great  assembly 
of  the  North.     The  Frosta  Thing  was  usually  held  at  mid- 
summer, when  the  days  were  longest,  and  night  in  those 
regions  practically  unknown.     From  all  the  eight  fylker  of 
Tr0ndelagen  the  people  flocked  to  the  yearly  meeting,  and 
the  gathering  on  this  occasion  was  unusually  large.     The 
Thing  having  been  opened  with  the  usual  formalities,  King 
Haakon  rose  and  addressed  the  people.    The  critical  moment 
so  long  looked  forward  to  by  the  king,  had  now  come,  and 
the   first   formal   attempt   to   procure   the   recognition  of 
Christianity  in  Norway  was  now  to  be  made. 

Haakon  began  with  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  people  to 
embrace  the  faith  in  which  he  had  been  brought  up,  to 


HAAKON  THE  GOOD.  27 

permit  themselves  to  be  baptized,  to  believe  in  the  one  God 
and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  The  people  listened  in  silence. 
Had  the  king  stopped  there,  it  is  possible  he  might  have 
met  with,  at  any  rate,  a  partial  success;  but  when  he 
proceeded  to  tell  them  they  must  not  work  on  Sundays, 
and  that,  further,  they  must  be  prepared  to  follow  the 
Christian  usage  and  fast  on  Fridays,  then  the  cries  of 
dissent  broke  out.  The  idea  of  abstinence  from  food  was 
not  at  all  an  acceptable  one  to  the  Northmen,  and  to 
abstain  from  work  on  Sundays  might  often  mean  the 
partial  loss  of  the  hay  harvest,  or  failure  in  securing  a 
good  haul  of  fish.  Haakon,  however,  was  very  plain  in 
setting  before  them  all  that  the  acceptance  of  Christianity 
would  entail. 

When  the  king  had  ended,  there  stood  up  in  the  council 
one  Asbj0rn  of  Medalhus,  a  wealthy  bonde  from  a  place 
now  called  Melhus  in  Guldal,  near  Trondhjem.  He  told 
the  king  that  the  people  willingly  acknowledged  the 
benefits  which  had  come  to  them  from  his  wise  and  kindly 
rule,  especially  in  the  restoration  to  them  of  their  Odel 
rights  and  privileges.  But  he  declared  in  no  uncertain 
tones  that  they  would  not  give  up  the  faith  of  their  fathers, 
and  accept  the  thraldom  which  it  seemed  the  king  wished 
to  force  upon  them.  If  he  insisted  on  this,  then  they 
would  choose  another  king,  but  they  had  no  desire  to 
quarrel  with  him  so  long  as  they  were  left  to  worship  the 
gods  of  their  forefathers.  This  speech  was  received  with 
shouts  of  applause  by  the  people,  and  it  was  at  once 
apparent  that  the  assembly  was  entirely  hostile  to  Haakon's 
proposed  innovations. 

Then  Sigurd  Jarl  stood  up  in  defence  of  the  young 
monarch.  He  hastened  to  explain  to  the  people  that  they 
were  under  a  mistake  in  supposing  that  Haakon  wished  to 
force  his  views  on  them,  or  to  cause  any  break  in  the 
friendship  which  existed  between  them.  With  this  he 


28  CHUECH   AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

quieted  the  people,  and  the  proceedings  terminated,  the 
victory  remaining  with  the  heathen  party. 

Having  thus  thwarted  the  king,  the  believers  in  the  old 
gods  were  determined  to  press  home  their  advantage,  and 
an  opportunity  for  this  soon  presented  itself.  At  the  usual 
festival  held  in  October,  when  the  winter  sacrifices  were 
offered,  the  Odin's  mindebceger  (the  horn  of  beer  to  be 
drunk  to  Odin)  was  handed  to  the  king.  Before  drinking 
it  he  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  it.  At  this  the 
watchful  heathen  protested,  but  the  wily  Jarl  Sigurd 
explained  that  the  king,  believing  in  his  own  strength, 
dedicated  the  horn  to  Thor  instead  of  Odin,  by  making 
over  it  the  sign  of  Mj0lnir  (Thor's  hammer),  and  so  the 
incident  passed. 

The  crisis,  however,  soon  came.  At  the  Julefest  the 
heathen  party  resolved  there  should  be  no  more  tem- 
porizing. They  made  it  clear  to  the  king  that  either  he 
must  join  in  the  heathen  ceremonies  or  forfeit  his  crown. 
Sigurd  Jarl  saw  the  danger,  and  with  difficulty  persuaded 
Haakon  to  give  way.  The  feast  was  held,  and  the  king 
ate  some  of  the  horse-flesh  and  drank  of  all  the  necessary 
horns  of  beer  to  the  gods,  this  time  without  making  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  and  thus  openly  sealed  his  adherence  to 
the  Asa  faith.  But  he  left  the  feast  heavy  and  displeased, 
and  intending  to  come  back  with  a  powerful  force  and 
revenge  himself  on  the  b0nder,  but  for  the  time  the  triumph 
of  Odin  and  Thor  over  "  the  White  Christ "  was  complete. 

It  is  easy  for  us  to  condemn  Haakon  for  his  apostacy, 
but  we  must  remember  the  position  in  which  he  was 
placed.  Cut  off  from  the  support  of  those  in  England 
among  whom  he  had  been  brought  up,  surrounded  by 
heathen,  many  of  whom  he  had  good  cause  to  love,  and 
with  the  certainty  of  losing  his  kingdom,  if  not  his  life,  if 
he  refused  to  join  in  the  idol  feasts,  his  kind-heartedness 
and  good-nature,  as  well  as  the  pressure  of  circumstances, 


HAAKON  THE   GOOD.  29 

all  combined  to  make  him  yield  an  outward  compliance 
with  the  demands  of  the  heathen  party.  All  through  the 
rest  of  his  life  he  seems  to  have  felt  deeply  his  abandon- 
ment of  the  faith,  and  his  failure  to  spread  it  in  his 
kingdom.  He  was  doubtless  sincere  in  his  intention  to 
make  another  effort  on  behalf  of  Christianity  when  a  con- 
venient opportunity  presented  itself,  but  the  "  convenient 


season"  never  came. 


After  these  events,  fresh  trouble  was  in  store  for  Haakon 
and  his  kingdom.  His  brother,  Erik  Bloodaxe  of  North- 
umberland, was  slain  in  battle,  and  his  sons  determined  to 
attempt  to  regain  the  kingdom  from  which  their  father  had 
been  driven  by  Haakon.  Queen  Gunhild  went  with  them 
to  Denmark,  where  the  king,  Harald  Gormss0n,  was  ready 
to  give  them  assistance.  They  made  several  descents  upon 
Norway,  and  Haakon  was  obliged  to  summon  to  his  aid  all 
his  available  forces,  and  he  dared  not  weaken  his  strength 
by  any  question  of  religion. 

The  attacks  of  Gunhild's  sons  were  repulsed  with  great 
loss  to  them,  but  they  only  retired  to  Denmark  for  fresh 
help,  and  appeared  again  and  again  on  the  coast.  This 
state  of  things  lasted  till  the  close  of  Haakon's  life. 

In  960  the  king  was  paying  a  visit  at  Fitjar,  on  the 
large  island  of  Stord,  in  S0ndhordland,  off  the  entrance  to 
the  great  Hardanger  Fjord.  While  there,  with  but  a  small 
force,  he  was  surprised  by  the  fleet  of  Harald  Graafell,  the 
eldest  of  Erik's  sons.  The  enemy  were  in  overwhelming 
force,  but  Haakon  and  his  men  disdained  to  seek  safety  in 
flight.  A  fierce  battle  ensued,  in  which,  after  a  desperate 
struggle,  Harald  Graafell's  forces  were  defeated  and  forced 
to  fly.  Just  at  the  very  end  of  the  battle  Haakon  was 
mortally  wounded  by  an  arrow.  Before  his  death,  having 
no  son,  he  named  his  nephew  Harald  as  his  successor. 
Then,  we  are  told,  the  sorrow  for  his  abandonment  of  the 
faith  filled  the  king's  mind.  "  If  life  is  granted  to  me," 


30  CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

he  said  to  his  followers,  "  i  will  betake  myself  to  a  land  of 
Christian  men,  and  do  penance  and  atone  for  my  sin 
against  God,  but  if  I  die  here  in  heathenism,  then  bury  me 
as  you  wish  yourselves." 

His  men,  with  tears,  told  him  they  would  carry  his  body 
over  to  England,  and  give  it  Christian  burial.  But  the 
dying  king  shook  his  head.  "  I  am  not  worthy  of  it/'  he 
said.  "  I  have  lived  as  a  heathen,  and,  therefore,  as  a 
heathen  should  I  be  buried." 

As  a  heathen  he  was  laid  to  rest.  He  was  buried  on  his 
estate  at  Sseheim,  in  Nordhordland.  All  men  mourned  for 
him,  friends  and  foes  alike,  and  "men  said  such  a  good 
king  would  never  come  to  Norway  again/'  The  love  and 
veneration  of  his  people  marked  him  out  among  the  kings 
as  Haakon  the  Good. 


CHAPTER  V. 

HARALD    GRAAFELL;    AND    THE    HEATHEN    REACTION 
UNDER   HAAKON  JARL. 

Norway  under  Gunhild's  Sons — Graafell  murdered  in  Denmark — 
Haakon  Jarl  rules  Norway  under  Harald  Blaatand  of  Denmark 
— Haakon  Jarl's  enforced  Baptism — Danish  Missionaries  in  Viken 
— Adam  of  Bremen's  Testimony — The  Results  of  this  Work — 
Norwegian  Church  a  Daughter  of  the  English  Church — Haakon 
Jarl  and  the  Jomsvikings — The  Battle  at  Livaag — Haakon's  Evil 
Deeds  and  the  Coming  Deliverer. 

THE  death  of  Haakon  the  Good  was  followed  by  a  period 
of  anarchy  and  struggles  with  foreign  foes,  which  lasted 
for  some  thirty -five  years,  and  caused  much  suffering  and 
want  in  the  land. 

Haakon,  on  his  deathbed,  had  expressed  the  wish  that 
his  nephew  Harald,  surnamed  Graafell,  should  succeed 
him.  He  was  the  eldest  of  the  five  sons  of  Erik  Blod0kse, 
and  with  them  he  shared  the  portions  of  Norway  ruled 
over  by  Haakon,  namely,  the  northern  and  north-western 
divisions,  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  grandsons 
of  Harald  Haarfagre  held  the  petty  kingdoms  in  Viken 
(the  country  around  the  Christiania  Fjord),  which  he  had 
bestowed  on  their  fathers. 

Harald  Graafell,  however,  was  the  overlord  of  the 
portions  where  his  brothers  ruled.  As  they  were  mainly 
guided  by  the  universally  detested  Gunhild,  they  soon 
became  very  unpopular.  Following  the  example  of  their 
father,  they  endeavoured  to  extend  their  authority  by  the 
treacherous  murder  of  King  Trygve,*  the  son  of  Olaf,  and 

*  The  father  of  the  great  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  who  at  the  time  of  this 
murder  was  not  yet  born,  see  p.  40. 


82  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Gudr0d,  the  son  of  their  father's  victim,  Bj0rn,  both  kings 
in  Viken.  Sigurd  Jarl  was  another  obstacle  in  their  way, 
and  he,  too,  was  slain.  The  people  of  Tr0ndelagen  imme- 
diately supported  his  son,  Haakon  Jarl,  and  Gunhild's  sons 
soon  found  to  their  cost  what  a  mistake  they  had  made  in, 
killing  his  father.  At  first,  however,  they  were  partially 
successful,  and  Haakon  Jarl  was  obliged  to  take  refuge 
with  Harald  Blaatand  (blue  tooth),  king  of  Denmark. 

Harald  Graafell  and  his  brothers  were  nominal  Chris- 
tians, as  they  had  been  baptized  when  in  England,  and  in 
Norway  during  their  time  the  ancient  heathen  system  was 
still  further  weakened.  The  brothers  do  not  seem  to  have 
attempted  to  obtain  any  official  recognition  of  Christianity 
from  the  Things,  as  Haakon  did — indeed,  their  zeal  for  the 
propagation  of  the  faith  was  of  a  very  negative  character, 
and  manifested  itself  chiefly  in  the  destruction  and  plunder 
of  the  heathen  temples  wherever  they  went,  and  enriching 
themselves  and  their  followers  with  the  spoils.  No  attempt 
was  made  to  force  Christianity  on  the  people,  nor  were,  as 
far  as  we  can  see,  any  churches  erected  or  rebuilt  in  any 
part  of  Norway.  Men  were  free  to  worship  as  they  thought 
fit,  and  the  example  of  the  sons  of  Gunhild  was  not  likely 
to  prepossess  the  heathen  in  favour  of  the  faith  which  they 
nominally  professed.  These  were  years  of  bad  harvests, 
and  distress  was  everywhere  prevalent;  the  fish  forsook 
the  shores,  and  famine  and  sickness  stalked  through  the 
land.  In  these  calamities  the  people  saw  the  wrath  of  the 
gods  whose  temples  had  been  destroyed,  and  who  were  not 
propitiated  with  sacrifices.  Universal  discontent  prevailed. 

About  the  year  970  (the  exact  date  is  doubtful)  Harald 
Graafell  was  treacherously  induced  to  visit  Denmark,  and 
when  there  was  attacked  and  slain.  This  was  the  oppor- 
tunity which  Harald  Blaatand  was  looking  for  to  assert  his 
supremacy  over  Norway.  He  at  once  set  sail  with  a 
powerful  fleet  to  Tr0ndelagen ;  and,  as  there  was  no  one  to 


HARALD  GRAAFELL.  33 

oppose  Mm  (two  of  Harald  Graafell's  brothers  were  already 
dead,  and  Gunhild  and  the  others  fled  to  the  Orkneys),  he 
had  no  difficulty  in  having  himself  acknowledged  as  king. 
Haakon  Jar]  was  left  as  governor  over  the  north  and 
westemfylker,  and  the  district  of  Viken  was  under  Harald's 
immediate  care.  Haakon  was,  as  a  vassal,  bound  to  assist 
his  overlord  Harald  whenever  called  upon. 

Now  came,  in  the  region  ruled  over  by  Haakon,  a  veritable 
heathen  reaction.  The  jarl  was  a  devout  adherent  of  the 
ancient  faith,  and  set  to  work  immediately  to  rebuild  the 
temples  and  to  celebrate  once  more  the  heathen  festivals 
at  the  appointed  seasons.  The  first  year  of  Haakon's  rule 
was  signalized  by  the  return  of  the  herrings  to  the  coast, 
which  they  had  forsaken,  and  a  prosperous  harvest ;  so  the 
people  recognized  in  this  that  the  anger  of  the  gods  was 
appeased  and  the  evil  averted  from  the  land. 

It  was  not  long  before  Harald  Blaatand  had  to  summon 
his  vassal  Haakon  to  his  aid.  The  young  Kaiser  Otto  II., 
who  had  succeeded  his  father  in  973,  invaded  Denmark  in 
975,  in  order  to  bring  that  kingdom  more  completely  into 
subjection  (as  Harald  had  designs  of  rejecting  the  suzerainty 
which  Otto  I.  had  imposed  on  him),  and  also  for  the  purpose 
of  forcibly  advancing  Christianity  in  Denmark.  Consider- 
able progress  had  been  made,  as  we  have  seen,  under 
Ansgar,  the  Archbishop  of  Bremen,  and  a  church  had  been 
erected  at  Slesvig  ;  but  the  king  still  remained  a  heathen. 

In  obedience  to  Harald's  call,  Haakon  Jarl  raised  an 
army  and  fleet,  and  came  to  the  aid  of  his  overlord. 
After  a  short  resistance,  however,  Harald  was  defeated,  and 
the  Kaiser  offered  him  terms  of  peace  on  condition  that  he 
should  be  baptized.  We  are  told  that  the  holy  Bishop 
Poppo  preached  to  the  king  and  his  army,  and  the  result 
was  that  both  Harald  and  all  his  forces  were  baptized. 

The  Danish  king,  having  thus  accepted  Christianity, 
decided  that  his  vassal  must  do  the  same,  and  sent  for 

C.S.N.  D 


34  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Haakon,who  had  taken  refuge  in  his  ships,  and  obliged  him 
also  to  be  baptized.  Then,  having  supplied  him  "with  priests 
and  other  learned  men,"  he  dispatched  him  to  Norway. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  sincerity  of  Harald  in 
embracing  Christianity,  Haakon  soon  made  it  clear  that  he 
still  remained  a  heathen.  He  set  sail,  and  at  the  first 
possible  opportunity  put  his  ecclesiastics  ashore  and  harried 
the  coast  of  Sweden  until  he  came  to  Norway,  and,  setting 
Harald  at  defiance,  went  overland  to  Tr0ndelagen.  In 
revenge  for  this,  the  Danish  king  invaded  the  west  coast  of 
Norway  and  ravaged  the  country  with  fire  and  sword  ;  but 
when  Haakon  had  collected  his  fleet  and  came  to  resist 
the  attack,  Harald  sailed  back  again  into  Denmark. 

It  is  necessary  at  this  point  to  advert  to  the  missionary 
efforts  which  were  made  in  the  district  of  Viken,  at  this  time 
directly  subject  to  the  Danish  Crown.  Harald,  after  his 
conversion  to  the  faith  under  the  persuasive  eloquence  and 
miracles  of  Bishop  Poppo,  did  all  in  his  power  to  promote 
the  christianizing  of  his  heathen  subjects  both  in  Denmark 
and  Norway.  For  some  details  of  this  we  are  indebted 
to  the  "Gesta  Hammaburgensis  Ecclesise  Pontificum  "  of 
Adam  of  Bremen,  a  chronicle  of  great  value  in  connection 
with  the  early  history  of  Christianity  in  the  North ;  but, 
being  naturally  a  very  zealous  supporter  of  the  see  of 
Bremen,  it  is  probable  that  he  may  have  been  inclined  to 
estimate  more  highly  than  it  deserved,  the  work  of  the 
missionaries  sent  from  Bremen  to  Norway;  and  possibly, 
also,  to  look  with  a  not  altogether  impartial  eye  on  the 
English  Church's  missionaries,  to  whose  efforts  mainly,  as  we 
shall  see,  the  spread  of  the  faith  in  Norway  is  due. 

Adam  mentions  that  Liafdag,  who  in  948  was  conse- 
crated to  the  see  of  Eibe,  in  Denmark,  was  the  most  famous 
among  the  early  bishops  and  renowned  for  his  miracles,  and 
that  he  had  preached  "  beyond  the  sea,  that  is  in  Sweden 
and  Norway." 


HARALD  GRAAFELL.  35 

Snorre  mentions  that  Harald,  after  his  conversion,  sent, 
amongst  other  men,  "  two  jarls  to  Norway,  who  were  to 
preach  Christianity ;  which  was  also  done  in  Viken,  where 
King  Harald's  power  prevailed."  There  they  baptized 
many  men,  but  after  Harald's  death  they  relapsed.  Snorre 
does  not  give  us  the  names  of  these  "jarls,"  but  in  the 
Saga  of  the  Jomsvikings  they  are  mentioned  under  the 
very  uncouth  names  of  Urguthrj0tr  and  Brimiskjarr.  Who 
these  "jarls  "  were  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  It 
seems  doubtful  if  they  were  jarls  at  all.  Some  suppose 
that  if  jarls  were  sent,  they  had  priests  with  them,  who 
were  subsequently  credited  with  having  been  jarls. 

There  seems  no  doubt  whatever  that  there  was,  before 
Olaf  Trygvess0n's  day  a  certain  amount  of  missionary 
work  in  Viken  which  was  not  altogether  destitute  of 
results,  but  that  this  was  not  a  little  magnified  by  the 
Bremen  authorities  later  on,  when  the  great  work  of  the 
English  bishops  and  priests,  under  the  two  Olafs,  was 
made  manifest. 

The  scholiast  of  Adam  says,  speaking  of  the  labours  of 
Olaf  Trygvess0n's  bishop :  "  Though  before  him  our 
missionaries,  Liafdag,  Poppo,  and  Odinkar,  had  preached 
to  that  nation.  This  can  we  say  :  our  missionaries  laboured, 
and  the  English  entered  into  their  labours. "*  It  is  only 
fair  to  add  that  Adam  himself  takes  a  more  liberal  view 
when  he  says,  with  reference  to  the  work  of  the  two 
Churches :  "  The  mother-Church  of  Hamburg  bears  no 
grudge  if  even  foreigners  have  done  good  to  her  children, 
saying  with  the  apostle  :| '  Quidam  prcedicant  per  invidiam 
et  contentionem,  quidam  autem  propter  bonam  voluntatem 
et  caritatem.  Quid  enim  f  Dum  omni  modo  sive  per 
occasionem  sive  per  veritatem  Christus  annuncietur,  et 
in  hoc  gaudeo  et  gaudebo '  "  (Phil.  L,  16-18). 

*  Adam,  Scholiast,  142. 
t  Adam  II.,  c.  35. 

D2 


36  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

It  would  be  altogether  unfair  to  fail  to  recognize  the 
work  of  the  missionaries  sent  forth  by  the  see  of  Bremen  to 
evangelize  the  North.  But  it  seems  pretty  clear  that  the 
result  of  their  efforts  in  Viken  (the  only  part  of  Norway 
where  they  claim  to  have  laboured)  were  not  of  a  very 
lasting  character,  and  that  no  attempt  was  made  to  organize 
the  Church  there,  on  any  stable  foundation,  as  St.  Olaf 
did  in  his  work  throughout  Norway.  The  claim  of 
Bremen  to  have  founded  what  might  be  called  a  rival 
Church  to  that  established  by  the  English  missionaries 
cannot,  indeed,  be  seriously  considered.  The  Christianity 
of  Viken  seems,  openly  at  least,  to  have  disappeared  under 
the  heathen  rule  of  Haakon  Jarl;  and,  later  on,  the 
severing  of  the  connection  with  the  Danish  Crown,  when 
the  district  was  incorporated  in  Olaf  Trygvess0n's  kingdom, 
brought  Yiken,  like  the  rest  of  Norway,  into  the  organiza- 
tion founded  by  the  English  missionaries ;  and  the  efforts 
of  those  sent  forth  from  the  see  of  Bremen  were  confined, 
for  a  considerable  time  at  least,  to  the  two  other  Scandi- 
navian kingdoms. 

The  question  seems  to  be  fairly  summed  up  by  Keyser 
in  the  following  words :  "  The  direct  and  indirect  results 
of  the  efforts  of  the  German-Bremen  Church  in  Norway 
were  confined  to  individual  conversions,  or  attempts  at 
conversion,  in  Viken,  whilst  they  never  succeeded  in  form- 
ing any  special  Church  community.  On  the  other  hand, 
Christianity  over  the  whole  of  Norway,  both  with  respect 
to  the  permanent  conversion  of  the  people  and  ecclesias- 
tical organization,  proceeded  exclusively  from  England ; 
in  other  words,  the  Norwegian  Church  was  wholly  and 
completely  a  daughter  of  the  English  Church"* 

Harald  Blaatand  did  not  long  survive  his  failure  to 
coerce  his  rebellious  vassal  Haakon  Jarl.  His  death  was 
the  result  of  a  wound,  received  in  a  battle  fought  against 
*  Keyser,  Den  Norske  Kirkes  ffistorie,  Vol.  L,  p.  32. 


HAKALD  GRAAFELL.  37 

his  son  Svein  Tjugeskjgeg  (the  forked  beard),  who  had  raised 
an  insurrection  against  him.  On  his  father's  death,  Svein 
was  accepted  as  king  of  Denmark.  The  new  king  did  not 
forget  the  fact  that  his  father  had  been  the  overlord  of 
Norway,  and  at  once  decided  to  take  steps  to  bring 
Haakon  to  submission  to  his  authority.  For  this  purpose 
he  called  to  his  assistance  the  famous  Jomsvikings. 

This  very  remarkable  guild  of  fighting  men  lived,  when 
ashore,  in  their  stronghold  at  Jom,  or  Jumne,  in  Pomerania. 
They  were  the  heathen  prototypes  of  the  military  orders 
of  later  days,  and  lived  under  very  strict  rules  and  discip- 
line. No  one  over  fifty  years,  or  under  eighteen,  was 
admitted  into  their  company,  and  women  were  strictly 
excluded  from  their  fortress.  Around  it  there  grew  up  a 
town,  with  some  considerable  trade.  The  Jomsvikings 
were  very  zealous  heathen,  and  made  it  a  distinct  con- 
dition that  none  should  come  to  the  town  who  intended 
to  preach  Christianity.  Adam  of  Bremen,  however,  bears 
witness  to  the  fact  that  with  this  exception  "no  more 
honest  or  kindly  race  could  be  found."  The  fierce  courage 
and  endurance  of  these  Vikings  made  their  assistance  much 
sought  for  in  local  warfare. 

The  chief  of  the  Jomsvikings  at  this  time  was  Sigvald 
Jarl,  and  to  him  Svein  addressed  himself.  After  the 
usual  negotiations  Sigvald  undertook  within  three  years 
to  kill  or  to  drive  away  from  Norway,  the  rebellious 
Haakon  Jarl. 

At  the  close  of  978  the  Jomsvikings  set  sail  with  a 
powerful  fleet,  and  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  Eogaland 
at  the  time  of  the  Julefest.  Meanwhile  Haakon  had 
received  tidings  of  the  approach  of  these  formidable  foes, 
but  nothing  daunted  he  assembled  a  powerful  fleet  and 
determined  to  defend  his  land.  The  Jomsviking  force 
sailed  north,  and,  doubling  the  peninsula  of  Stadt,  finally 
came  to  battle  with  Haakon  in  the  bay  of  Livaag,  on  the 


38  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

island  of  Hareidland,  which  lies  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
present  town  of  Aalesund.  There  ensued  one  of  the  most 
sanguinary  battles  ever  fought  in  Norway.  Haakon  Jarl 
and  his  son  Erik  fought  with  dauntless  courage,  but  were 
able  to  make  little  impression  on  the  fierce  Jomsvikings. 
As  the  fight  went  on  it  seemed  as  if  victory  must  rest 
with  the  invaders.  Then  Haakon,  in  his  extremity, 
adopted  a  desperate  and  horrible  expedient,  the  truth  of 
which  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt,  as  we  know  such 
practices  were  found  among  the  heathen  Norsemen. 
Following  the  example  of  the  king  of  Moab,  he  sought 
to  propitiate  the  gods  with  a  human  sacrifice.  Leaving 
his  men  to  fight,  he  went  hurriedly  ashore,  and  there 
offered  up  his  little  seven-year-old  son  Erling  as  a  sacrifice 
to  the  gods.  Then  followed  a  terrible  storm,  and  the  hail 
beat  with  violence  in  the  faces  of  the  Vikings,  and  at  last 
they  began  to  give  way.  Finally  fortune  declared  itself 
for  Haakon,  and  the  redoubtable  Sigvald  Jarl  was  forced 
to  fly  with  only  twenty -five  ships. 

Haakon  was  now  free  from  attack  from  Denmark,  and 
his  authority  was  supreme  over  the  north  and  west,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  he  would  be  able  to  establish  his  family  as 
overlords  of  Norway  as  Harald  Haarfagre  had  done. 
But  after  the  great  victory  at  Livaag,  when  his  power  was 
at  its  height,  he  became  careless  and  secure,  and  soon  his 
cruelties  and  lust  displeased  even  his  heathen  subjects,  and 
the  land  was  filled  with  discontent.  The  forcible  seizure 
of  the  beautiful  wife  of  Orm  Lyrgia,  one  of  the  most 
powerful  of  the  b0nder  in  Tr0ndelagen,  brought  matters  to 
a  crisis.  A  deliverer  of  the  race  of  the  fair-haired  Harald 
was  found  in  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  the  most  striking  and 
heroic  character  presented  to  us  in  the  history  of  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  Norway. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OLAP  TRYGVESS0N,  AND  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE 
WHITE  CHRIST. 

Olaf  the  Founder  of  the  Church— His  Birth  and  Early  Years— His 
Baptism  and  Confirmation — Haakon  Jarl  tries  to  lure  him  to 
Norway — Olaf  Sails  from  Dublin — Lands  at  Moster — Finds  Insurrec- 
tion against  Haakon — Death  of  Haakon — Olaf  chosen  King — 
His  Character — Begins  the  Spread  of  the  Faith  in  Yiken — He 
Proceeds  round  the  Coast — St.  Sunniva  and  Selje — Olaf  founds 
Nidaros — Fails  at  Frosta  Thing  to  procure  Acceptance  of  Chris- 
tianity— He  works  Craftily — Destroys  the  Idols  at  Maeren — Olaf  in 
the  North — Olaf's  Enemies  in  Denmark — His  Expedition  to  Yend- 
land— The  Battle  of  Svolder  and  Death  of  Olaf— The  Christianizing 
of  Iceland. 

OLAF  TRYGVESS0N  may  well  be  called  the  founder  of 
the  Norwegian  Church,  though  the  work  of  organization 
was  carried  out  by  the  more  widely-known  Olaf  the  Saint. 
He  was  not,  it  is  true,  the  first  Christian  king  in  the  land, 
for  Haakon  the  Good,  and  Harald  Graafell,  were  both 
nominal  Christians,  and  the  former,  before  his  lapse,  had 
made  a  very  sincere  effort  to  induce  his  people  to  receive 
the  faith.  But  he  lacked  what  Olaf  possessed,  the  burning 
zeal  of  a  great  missionary,  albeit  this  zeal  was  at  times 
evinced  in  a  manner  more  suggestive  of  the  followers  of 
Mahomet  than  of  Christ — and  also  (what  was  of  no  small 
importance)  the  strong  argument  of  fighting  men  and  ships, 
without  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  Olaf  s  conversions  to 
Christianity  would  but  seldom  have  taken  place. 

The  early  life  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  as  recorded  in  the 
Sagas,  is  full  of  the  strangest  adventures,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  how  much  of  it  is  legendary.  It  is  unnecessary 


40  CHUKCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

for  our  purpose  to  follow  all  the  incidents  of  his  early 
days  as  set  forth  there ;  it  is  enough  to  confine  ourselves 
to  the  principal  events  about  which  there  is  not  much 
doubt. 

Olaf  Trygvess0n  was,  as  his  name  indicates,  the  son  of 
Trygve  (the  grandson  of  Harald  Haarfagre),  and  one  of 
the  smaller  kings  who  ruled  in  Viken.  Trygve  was,  as 
we  know,  murdered  by  Gunhild's  sons  about  the  year  963. 
On  her  husband's  death  his  wife,  Astrid,  fled  for  her  life 
and  took  refuge  on  an  island  in  the  Eandsfjord,  a  large 
lake  in  Hadeland,  accompanied  by  her  faithful  foster-father, 
Torolv  Luseskjaeg.  Soon  after  she  gave  birth  to  a  son, 
who  was  named  Olaf  after  his  grandfather.*  For  some 
years  Astrid  and  her  child  were  pursued  from  place  to 
place  by  the  remorseless  malignity  of  Queen  Gunhild,  and 
were  often  in  extreme  peril  of  their  lives.  Finding  it 
unsafe  to  remain  any  longer  in  Norway,  she  eventually 
took  refuge  with  her  brother  Sigurd,  who  had  been  for 
some  time  one  of  the  principal  men  at  the  court  of  King 
Valdemar  of  Gardarike,  a  large  district  of  Western  Eussia, 
at  that  time  in  Scandinavian  hands. 

Here  Olaf  remained  until  about  his  eighteenth  year,  when, 
in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  those  times,  he  started 
on  a  Viking  cruise  with  other  adventurous  spirits.  He 
went  to  Yendland  and  Denmark,  and  soon  collected  a  body 
of  followers  who  acknowledged  him  as  their  chief.  England, 
at  this  time  under  the  feeble  rule  of  Ethelred  II.,  the 
Redeless,  offered  a  very  tempting  field  for  Viking  raids,  and 
to  that  country  and  to  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  Ireland 
Olaf  and  his  followers  accordingly  went.  He,  in  common 
with  others,  received  from  Ethelred  considerable  sums  of 
money  to  abstain  from  plundering.  After  several  years 
spent  around  the  coasts  of  the  British  Isles,  he  came 

*  The  heathen  Norsemen  had  a  ceremony  resembling  baptism,  in 
which  water  was  poured  upon  the  child  when  he  was  named. 


OLAP  TRYGVESS0N.  41 

to  the  Scilly  Isles,  where,  we  are  told,  he  was  baptized  by 
a  holy  man,  probably  a  hermit,  who  foretold  his  future 
greatness,  and  instructed  him  in  the  Christian  faith.  He 
then  went  back  to  England,  having  made  peace  with 
Ethelred.  This  was  in  994.  Florence  of  Worcester  tells 
us  that  this  agreement  was  after  some  severe  fighting,  and 
adds  a  notice  of  another  important  event  in  Olaf's  life. 
"-ZElfheah  (St.  Alphege),  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  the  noble 
ealdorman  Ethel  ward,  went  to  King  Olaf  by  order  of  King 
Ethelred,  and  having  given  hostages,  conducted  him  with 
honour  to  the  royal  vill  of  Andover,  where  the  king  was 
residing.  The  king  treated  him  with  great  distinction,  and, 
causing  him  to  be  confirmed  by  the  bishop,  adopted  him  as 
his  son  and  made  him  a  royal  present.  He  on  his  part 
promised  King  Ethelred  he  would  never  again  invade 
England,  and  afterwards  returning  to  his  fleet,  sailed  for  his 
own  kingdom  at  the  beginning  of  summer  and  faithfully  kept 
his  promise."  He  did  not,  however,  return  immediately  to 
Norway,  for  early  the  next  year  we  find  him  in  Dublin  with 
his  brother-in-law,  Olaf  Kvaran,  who  ruled  over  the  kingdom 
the  Northmen  had  founded  there. 

It  was  riot  likely  that  tidings  of  such  a  mighty  warrior 
as  Olaf  had  proved  himself  to  be,  would  fail  to  come  to  the 
ears  of  Haakon  Jarl,  now  in  the  height  of  his  power,  and 
remembering  that  he  was  the  great-grandson  of  Harald 
Haarfagre,  and  therefore  heir  to  the  crown  of  Norway,  the 
crafty  jarl  determined,  if  possible,  to  decoy  him  to  his  native 
land,  and  make  away  with  him.  For  this  purpose  he 
accordingly  dispatched  an  emissary,  Thore  Klakka,  to 
Dublin  in  order  to  see  if  he  could  induce  him  to  go  to 
Norway.  Thore  was  a  very  plausible  man,  and  answered 
all  Olaf's  questions  in  a  manner  which  gained  him  his 
confidence.  He  insinuated  that  as  Haakon  was  disliked, 
the  people  would  willingly  welcome  a  descendant  of 
Haarfagre  as  a  deliverer.  After  a  good  many  interviews 


42  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

he  induced  Olaf  to  make  the  attempt,  which  the  young 
chief  was  nothing  loth  to  do,  and  with  five  ships  he  set  sail 
from  Dublin  accompanied  by  the  traitorous  Thore  Klakka. 

Sailing  north,  Olaf  paid  a  passing  visit  to  the  Orkneys, 
where  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  surprise  the  jarl,  Sigurd 
Lodvess0n,  who,  not  expecting  such  a  visitor,  had  only  one 
ship  with  him. 

What  followed  was  a  typical  example  of  the  method 
which  Olaf  adopted  in  spreading  the  faith.  He  sent 
a  courteous  message  to  the  jarl  inviting  him  to  come 
on  board  his  ship.  After  conversing  for  some  time  on 
various  topics  and  hospitably  entertaining  the  jarl,  Olaf 
explained  to  his  guest  that  the  time  had  now  come  for  him 
to  be  baptized.  It  was  only  natural  that  the  jarl  should 
demur  at  first  to  this  unusual  proposal,  but  Olaf  explained 
with  equal  clearness  that  the  only  alternative  was  his 
immediate  execution.  Under  such  circumstances  Sigurd 
did  not  hesitate  any  longer,  and  was  then  and  there  bap- 
tized with  all  his  followers,  and  swearing  allegiance  to  Olaf, 
gave  his  son  over  as  a  hostage  for  his  good  faith. 

After  this  promising  beginning,  Olaf  continued  his  voyage 
to  Norway.  Instead  of  sailing  direct  to  Tr0ndelagen  he 
made  for  the  west  coast,  and  landed  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  small  island  of  Moster,  which  lies  south  of  the  great 
island  of  Stord,  and  inside  the  marvellous  skjcergaard,  or 
island  belt,  which  almost  everywhere  protects  the  coast  of 
Norway  from  the  North  Sea.  There,  close  to  the  place  where 
the  present  village  of  Mosterhavn  and  the  ancient  stone 
church  stand,  Olaf  Trygvess0n  again  set  foot  upon  his  native 
land.  We  are  told  that  his  first  act  upon  landing  was  to 
have  mass  sung  in  a  tent  which  he  erected  on  the  shore,  on 
the  spot  where  the  church  now  stands,  thus  emphasizing  by 
this  ceremony  the  missionary  side  of  his  expedition.  He 
had  with  him  his  friend  and  counsellor  Bishop  Sigurd,  a 
man  of  English  race,  and  several  priests  who  were  selected 


OLAF  TRYGVESS0N.  43 

for  their  acquaintance  with  the  language  of  the  Northmen, 
but  all  trained  up  in  the  ways  of  Anglo-Saxon  Christianity. 

From  Moster  they  sailed  north  to  Tr0ndelagen,  where, 
instead  of  the  power  of  the  jarl  Haakon  being  at  its  height, 
as  the  traitor  Klakka  had  imagined,  they  found  that  his 
violations  of  the  homes  of  the  b0nder,  had  raised  the  whole 
district  in  rebellion  against  him. 

The  great-grandson  of  Harald  Haarfagre  was  welcomed 
as  a  deliverer,  and  accepted  as  a  leader  of  the  insurrection. 
The  end  of  the  jarl  was  not  long  in  coming.  He  took 
refuge  with  a  single  thrall  in  the  house  of  his  mistress 
Thora,  in  Guldalen.  When  Olaf  and  his  men  arrived  there 
in  search  of  the  jarl,  she  concealed  him  under  the  pigsty, 
where  he  was  murdered  by  his  servant,  who  brought  the 
jarl's  head  to  Olaf,  and  was  rewarded  by  having  his  own 
head  immediately  cut  off. 

Thus  perished  miserably  the  last  great  heathen  ruler  of 
Norway.  We  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the  courage  and 
ability  which  Haakon  manifested,  especially  in  the  earlier 
part  of  his  rule.  Nor  can  we  deny  to  him  the  credit  of  a 
sincere  attachment  to  the  faith  of  the  old  gods  of  his  fore- 
fathers. His  enforced  baptism  in  Denmark,  he  at  once 
showed,  had  been  merely  a  compliance  withybrce  majeure, 
and  in  no  way  binding  on  him.  Had  he  restrained  his  evil 
passions  in  his  later  days  and  not  excited  against  himself  the 
hostility  of  his  fellow  heathen,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
attack  of  Olaf  might  not  have  been  successful,  and  that  for 
a  much  longer  period  heathenism  might  have  retained  its 
hold  in  the  North.  But  his  crimes  and  outrages  everywhere 
raised  opposition,  and  at  a  great  Thing  for  all  ihefylker  of 
Tr0ndelagen,  held  immediately  after  Haakon's  death,  Olaf 
was  unanimously  chosen  as  king,  and  began  in  995  the 
short  but  remarkable  reign  which  had  so  much  to  do  with 
the  future  history  of  his  native  land. 

Almost   immediately   after   his    being   chosen   king  in 


44  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Tr0ndelagen,  Olaf  's  authority  was  accepted  throughout  the 
land.  One  Thing  after  another  welcomed  him,  and  even 
those  provinces  in  the  south-east,  which  had  been  subject 
to  the  Danish  Crown,  renounced  their  allegiance  to  it,  and 
all  the  petty  kings  of  Norway  accepted  Olaf  as  their  over- 
lord. Thus  in  one  short  year  the  extraordinary  "magnetic 
attractiveness "  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n  once  more  welded 
Norway  into  a  single  nation.  Olaf  was  indeed  a  born 
leader  of  men,  and  a  typical  representative  of  a  Norseman 
in  the  heroic  days.  Tall  and  unmatched  in  all  athletic 
exercises,  his  skill  in  arms  was  also  unequalled,  and  his 
dauntless  courage  won  everywhere  for  him,  the  devotion 
of  his  followers  and  the  respect  and  fear  of  his  foes.  His 
failings  were  those  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  There 
can  be  no  denying  that  on  many  occasions  he  was  guilty  of 
permitting  very  horrible  cruelty  to  be  practised  on  those 
who  had  fallen  into  his  hands,  and  this,  when  done  in  the 
propagation  of  the  faith,  showed  that,  in  common  with  most 
of  the  Christian  kings  of  Europe  in  his  day,  his  missionary 
spirit  was  more  in  consonance  with  the  Old  than  the  New 
Testament.  His  dealings  with  the  opposite  sex  were  not 
always  free  from  blame — indeed,  there  seems  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  he  had  more  than  one  wife  living  at  the  same 
time — but  in  this  also  he  only  reflected  the  life  of  the  age 
in  which  he  lived.  He  is  to  be  judged  by  the  standard 
of  the  tenth  century,  and  not  of  the  twentieth,  and,  bearing 
that  in  mind,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  him  as  a  great  and 
noble  man,  and  a  most  sincere  and  devoted  believer  in  the 
faith  of  Christ.  In  many  ways  he  was  superior  to  his  more 
famous  namesake  Olaf  the  Saint,  but  he  lacked  the  great 
gifts  of  organization  which  Olaf  Haraldss0n  possessed,  and 
which  left  its  impress  on  all  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
Church  in  Norway. 

When  Olaf  had  established  his  authority,  he  was  ready 
to  begin  his  work  of  spreading  Christianity  over  the  country. 


OLAF  TRYGVESS0N.  45 

He  had  very  wisely  kept  that  in  the  background  at  first, 
and  indeed  we  may  wonder  that  the  people  of  Tr0ndelagen, 
who  had  been  always  the  chief  supporters  of  the  old  gods, 
had  not  extracted  conditions  from  Olaf  before  electing  him 
as  king,  for  they  must  have  known  that  he  was  a  Christian, 
and  had  Bishop  Sigurd  and  his  priests  along  with  him. 

Such,  however,  was  the  hatred  which  the  crimes  of 
Haakon  Jarl  had  aroused,  that  they  were  only  too  glad  to 
take  Olaf  as  their  king,  especially  when  his  great  popularity 
and  immediate  descent  from  Harald  Haarfagre,  had  in  it  so 
much  to  commend  him  to  them. 

Olaf  further  showed  his  wisdom  in  commencing  his  work 
of  christianizing  the  people  in  Viken  instead  of  Tr0ndelagen. 
This  he  did  for  two  reasons.  First,  because  Viken  was  the 
district  where  the  missionaries  sent  out  from  Bremen  had 
worked ;  and  although  the  results  of  their  labours  were  not 
very  great,  and  what  they  had  accomplished  was  mostly 
swept  away  in  the  heathen  reaction  under  Haakon  Jarl, 
still  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  familiarity  with  the  facts 
of  Christianity  still  surviving  among  the  people.  Secondly, 
however,  there  was  a  stronger  reason.  In  Viken  the  king 
was  among  his  own  people,  and  in  the  district  where  his 
father  and  grandfather  had  ruled.  Olaf  rightly  estimated 
that  the  ties  of  relationship  and  family  connection,  when 
supported  by  the  glamour  of  his  name  and  his  might  in 
battle,  would  help  him  most  materially. 

In  this  he  was  not  disappointed.  His  kinsmen  to  whom 
he  explained  his  intention  of  christianizing  Norway  were 
ready  to  fall  in  with  his  plans  and  were  at  once  baptized.* 
This  example  on  the  part  of  the  chiefs  was  quickly 

*  Amongst  these,  according  to  one  account,  was  Sigurd  Syr,  the 
chief  or  king  of  Ringerike  and  stepfather  of  St.  Olaf ;  and  on  a 
subsequent  visit  in  998  it  is  said  that  the  future  king  and  saint,  then 
two  years  old,  was  baptized,  Olaf  Trygvess0n  standing  as  his  godfather. 
On  this  point,  however,  see  p.  61. 


46  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

followed  by  the  general  body  of  their  adherents,  and  in  a 
short  time  all  had  been  baptized,  and  nominally  accepted 
Christianity. 

After  this  good  beginning,  Olaf  decided  to  work  north- 
wards along  the  coast.  The  people  of  Agder  and  Hordaland 
agreed  after  some  persuasion.  At  Eogaland  the  people 
came  to  the  Thing  fully  armed,  and  intending  to  resist  the 
king ;  but  the  Saga  records  with  great  joy,  that  one  after 
another,  the  three  principal  men  who  were  chosen  as 
spokesmen  for  the  heathen  party,  and  deputed  to  reply  to 
the  king,  all  broke  down  the  moment  they  attempted  to 
speak,  and,  there  being  no  one  to  defend  heathenism,  the 
result  was  that  all  were  baptized. 

Then  Olaf  proceeded  to  meet  the  Gula  Thing,  the  great 
assembly  of  the  West  of  Norway,  as  the  Frosta  Thing  was 
for  Tr0ndelagen,  and  the  Eidsiva  for  the  central  parts. 
This  was  usually  held  at  Evenvik,  in  a  fertile  valley  on  the 
rocky  coast,  just  south  of  the  entrance  of  the  great  Sogne 
Fjord.  At  that  time  the  valleys  and  mountain  sides  were 
clothed  with  great  forests,  where  all  is  now  bare  and 
devoid  of  trees,  and  only  the  roots  of  great  pines  which  are 
from  time  to  time  dug  up,  attest  the  different  character 
which  the  face  of  the  country  at  that  time  presented. 

When  the  Tiling  was  "  set,"  as  the  expression  was,  the 
king  was  listened  to,  while  he  made  his  customary  appeal 
to  the  people  on  behalf  of  the  faith.  01mod  the  Old  was 
the  spokesman  of  the  chiefs,  and  declared  that  if  the  king 
intended  to  use  force  they  would  resist  to  the  uttermost, 
but  if  he  wished  to  be  friendly  they  would  on  their  part  keep 
on  good  terms  with  him,  and  he  concluded  by  suggesting 
that  the  king  should  give  his  sister  Astrid  in  marriage  to 
Erling  Skjalgss0n.  To  this  Olaf  agreed,  and  after  some 
difficulty  persuaded  Astrid  to  consent,  and  the  result  was 
finally  that  the  chiefs  and  people  were  all  baptized. 

The  next  Thing  was  that  held  at  Dragseid,  a  spot  situated 


From  a  Photograph  by]  [T  Olaf  Willson. 

PART    OF   AN    ALTAR    PIECE    FROM    AUSTEVOLD 

CHURCH,     NORDHORDLAND. 

(15th  Century.) 

St.  Sunniva  in  the  csntre,  with  St.  Peter  and  St.  Mary  Magdalene. 
Now  in  Bergen  Museum 


[To  face  p.  46. 


r>r 


OLAF  TRYGVESS0N.  47 

on  the  neck  of  the  great  peninsula  of  Stadt,  a  little  north 
of  the  Nordfjord.  This  Thing  was  attended  by  the  people 
of  S0ndm0re  and  the  Romsdal,  as  well  as  by  those  from  the 
Firda  jylker,  the  country  between  Nordfjord  and  Sogne 
Fjord.  Here  Olaf  was  apparently  more  peremptory.  He 
gave  them  the  simple  alternative  of  baptism  or  fighting,  and 
as  he  was  the  strongest  the  b0nder  agreed  to  be  baptized. 

Close  to  Dragseid  is  the  small  island  of  Selje.  According 
to  some  accounts,  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  king  discovered, 
or  was  informed  of,  the  existence  of  the  body  of  St.  Sunniva, 
who  had  met  her  death  on  this  island.  As  the  saint  was 
subsequently  recognized  as  one  of  the  three  patrons  of 
Norway,  it  is  well  to  relate  her  story  here. 

According  to  the  "Acta  Sanctorum  in  Selio,"  it  was  in 
the  time  of  the  Kaiser  Otto  I.  (936—973)  that  "  Sweet 
Sunniva  the  blessed  "  lived.  She  was  the  daughter  of  an 
Irish  king,  and  to  escape  marriage  with  a  heathen  prince, 
she  fled  from  her  home  and  embarked  in  three  ships  with  a 
number  of  men,  women,  and  children,  who  along  with  her 
desired  to  escape  "  from  the  raging  storms  of  an  evil  world." 
Without  oars  or  ship-gear  they  committed  themselves  to 
the  sea,  and  the  storm  and  tempest  carried  them  across  the 
North  Sea^  and  finally  landed  them  on  the  little  island  of 
Selje.  The  people  on  the  mainland  saw  the  strangers,  and 
proceeded  to  attack  them.  Sunniva  and  her  companions 
fled  for  refuge  to  a  cave  on  the  island,  and  prayed  that 
death  might  come  to  deliver  them  from  their  heathen  foes. 
The  prayer  was  heard,  and  a  stenskred  (stone  avalanche) 
fell  and  closed  the  entrance  to  the  cave  and  all  perished. 
Later  on  some  merchants  sailing  past  the  island,  saw  a  light, 
and  going  ashore  found  a  human  head,  which  emitted  a 

*  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  an  exactly  similar  instance  to  this, 
occurred  in  our  own  day,  in  the  case  of  Elizabeth  Mouath,  who  was 
blown  across  the  North  Sea  in  a  fishing-smack  from  the  Shetlands  to 
the  island  of  Leps0,  a  little  north  of  Selje. 


48  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

fragrant  odour.  They  went  to  Olaf  Trygvess0n  and  told 
the  tale.  The  king  then  with  Bishop  Sigurd  went  to  the 
island,  and  after  searching  they  discovered  the  body  of 
St.  Sunniva  perfectly  preserved.  A  church  was  erected  on 
the  island  and  a  cloister  established,  and  from  Selje  later 
on,  many  teachers  went  out  to  spread  the  faith.  It  seems 
most  probable,  on  the  whole,  that  the  visit  of  Olaf  and 
Bishop  Sigurd  to  Selje,  took  place  after  he  had  gone  to 
Nidaros,  and  when  his  work  of  christianizing  the  north  was 
further  advanced.  Selje  was  subsequently  the  seat  of  a 
bishopric,  which  was  transferred  to  Bergen  at  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  century ;  but  it  remained  an  important  monastic 
centre  down  to  the  sixteenth  century,  and  may  well  be 
called  the  "  holy  isle  "  of  Norway. 

Olaf  was  now  rapidly  approaching  Tr0ndelagen,  where 
the  first  real  opposition  to  his  efforts  to  spread  the  faith 
was  to  be  encountered.  Sailing  with  his  fleet  into  the 
Trondhjem  Fjord,  the  king  made  at  once  for  Hlade,  where 
the  famous  heathen  temple  stood,  on  the  estate  of  his 
predecessor  Haakon  Jarl. 

His  movements  seem  to  have  taken  the  people  by 
surprise  ;  the  district  was  the  stronghold  of  heathenism,  and 
the  inhabitants,  though  the  most  powerful  in  Norway,  were 
unprepared  to  defend  their  gods.  Olaf  acted  with  his  usual 
promptitude;  landing  his  men,  they  plundered  and  destroyed 
the  temple,  and  the  king  carried  off  in  triumph  a  gold  ring 
which  Haakon  Jarl  had  placed  on  the  temple  door.  This 
open  attack  on  the  religion  of  the  people  immediately 
roused  the  district.  The  b0nder  at  once  sent  round  the 
hcerpil,  or  war  arrow,  and  the  people  flocked  to  defend 
their  gods.  Not  finding  himself  strong  enough,  Olaf  decided 
to  move  north  to  Haalogaland  (the  district  along  the  coast, 
north  of  Namsos)  and  see  what  he  could  do  with  the 
inhabitants  there  ;  but  they  had  been  warned,  and  their 
three  chiefs,  Haarek  of  Thjotta,  Hjort  of  Vaage,  and  Eivind 


OLAP  TRYGVESS0N.  49 

Kinnriva,  collected  their  forces  to  withstand  the  king, 
and  finding  himself  thus  foiled  Olaf  sailed  southwards. 
When  he  reached  the  Trondhjem  Fjord  the  b0nder  had  gone 
back  again  to  their  farms. 

Olaf  at  this  time  (996 — 7)  founded  the  town  of  Nidaros, 
the  present  city  of  Trondhjem.  He  selected  as  the  site,  the 
spot  where  the  Nid  flows  into  the  fjord.  At  this  place 
the  river  takes  a  great  bend  before  entering  the  sea,  and 
the  king  with  much  wisdom  placed  the  buildings  in  such  a 
position,  that  the  river  formed  on  almost  two  sides  a  natural 
moat  which  would  protect  them  from  attack  by  a  land  force. 
Here  he  built  a  rough  kind  of  palace,  and  here  also  he 
erected  a  church,  most  likely  of  timber,  and  dedicated  it  to 
St.  Clement,  bishop  of  Kome.  The  king  by  his  founding  of 
the  town  shewed  that  he  felt  the  importance  of  attracting 
traders  to  the  country,  and  raising  up  a  force  which  might 
be  useful  against  the  power  of  the  b0nder. 

Olaf  now  considered  he  was  strong  enough  to  summon  a 
meeting  of  the  Thing  at  Frosta  in  the  autumn  of  996. 
The  b0nder,  however,  were  not  to  be  caught  napping. 
They  came  to  the  gathering  fully  armed,  and  having  as 
their  leader  and  speaker,  the  powerful  chief  who  was  known 
as  Jernskjaegge  (the  iron  beard)  of  Upphaug.  The  Thing 
being  set,  Olaf  rose  and  addressed  them,  and  urged  the 
acceptance  of  Christianity.  At  once  cries  of  dissent  were 
heard,  and  they  tried  to  stop  the  king,  reminding  him  of 
the  way  in  which  Haakon  the  Good's  similar  proposal  was 
met  at  the  same  place. 

Olaf  quickly  saw  that  he  was  not  strong  enough  to  resist 
the  power  of  the  b0nder  on  this  occasion,  and  so  he  began  to 
speak  kindly  to  them,  and  skilfully  averted  an  outbreak, 
promising  that  he  would  meet  them  at  Mseren  later  on, 
and  join  in  the  great  blot,  or  sacrificial  feast,  held  there 
in  the  January  following.  After  this  the  Thing  broke  up, 
and  Olaf  and  his  men  went  back  to  Hlade,  on  the  outskirts 

C.S.N.  E 


50  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

of  his   newly-founded  town  of  Nidaros,  and  the  b0nder 
returned  to  their  farms. 

The  king,  however,  had  no  idea  of  abandoning  his  crusade 
against  heathenism,  but  he  went  to  work  craftily.  When 
the  time  approached  for  the  blot  at  Mseren,  he  invited  to  a 
feast  all  the  principal  men  of  the  districts  close  to  Nidaros, 
and  they  responded  to  the  invitation,  apparently  without 
suspicion.  Olaf  had  taken  the  precaution  of  having  a 
number  of  ships  and  picked  men  ready  close  at  hand.  The 
chiefs  were  received  with  great  cordiality  by  the  king,  and, 
as  was  customary,  all  drank  heavily  at  the  feast.  Next 
morning  the  king  was  up  early  and  had  Mass  said,  and  then 
brought  his  men  ashore.  When  the  chiefs  had  awakened 
after  their  night's  carouse,  Olaf  called  them  to  a  meeting. 
Then  the  humour  of  the  king  was  seen.  With  a  delightful 
appearance  of  sincerity  he  gravely  explained  to  them  that 
at  the  Frosta  Thing  they  had  insisted  he  should  follow  the 
example  of  Haakon  and  sacrifice  to  the  gods  ;  he  was 
therefore  resolved  that  the  forthcoming  festival  should  be 
one  of  no  ordinary  grandeur  and  solemnity.  Hitherto  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  offer  a  miserable  thrall  as  a  sacrifice 
to  the  gods,  but  he  intended  to  do  better  than  that. 
Then  to  the  horror  of  his  guests  he  mentioned  the  names  of 
six  of  the  principal  men  before  him,  and  announced  his 
intention  to  offer  them  up  as  a  sacrifice.  We  can  well 
imagine  the  terror  of  the  chiefs  when  they  found  themselves 
in  the  king's  power.  They  at  once  begged  for  mercy,  and 
Olaf  readily  promised  it  on  condition,  that  they  were  all 
then  and  there  baptized,  and  further  that  they  would  give 
hostages  for  their  future  good  behaviour.  These  terms  they 
willingly  accepted,  and  they  were  sent  away.  The  opposition 
of  the  inner  Trondhj  em  district  was  thus  practically  broken. 
In  January,  997,  came  the  great  gathering  at  Mseren, 
where  Olaf  had  promised  to  take  part  in  the  sacrifices. 
Both  sides  came  fully  armed.  The  Thing  assembled,  and 


OLAF  TRYOVESS0N.  51 

the  people  demanded  that  the  king  should  keep  his  promise. 
Olaf  then  proceeded  with  Jernskjsegge  and  others  to  the 
hov  or  temple  ;  all  who  entered  were  unarmed,  but  the 
king  placed  outside  a  body  of  men  fully  armed  to  be  ready 
for  emergencies.  In  his  hand  Olaf  bore  a  golden  staff; 
when  they  came  to  the  image  of  Thor,  the  king  with  this 
staff  struck  down  the  idol.  At  once  his  men,  taking  this 
as  a  signal,  overturned  the  other  idols.  In  the  confusion 
which  arose,  Jernskjsegge  sought  to  escape,  but  when  he 
came  out  of  the  temple  he  was  killed  by  the  king's  men. 
Then  Olaf  came  out  and  addressed  the  excited  multitude, 
giving  them  the  usual  alternative  baptism  or  immediate 
battle.  The  heathen,  seeing  their  leader  slain  and  having 
no  hope  of  success,  chose  baptism,  and  they  were,  as  usual, 
at  once  baptized  and  sent  to  their  homes.  After  this  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  open  resistance  in  Tr0ndelagen  to 
Olaf  s  efforts  on  behalf  of  Christianity. 

In  order  to  conciliate  the  b0nder  it  was  arranged  that 
the  king  should  marry  Jernskjaegge's  daughter  Gudrun,  but 
as  she  attempted  to  assassinate  him  on  the  evening  of  the 
marriage,  she  was  put  away.  Then,  it  seems,  Olaf  sought 
the  hand  of  the  proud  and  ambitious  Sigrid,  the  widow  of 
Erik  of  Sweden.  He  did  his  wooing  by  deputy,  and  sent 
her  as  a  gift  the  gold  ring  he  had  taken  from  Haakon  Jarl's 
hov  at  Hlade.  The  queen  accepted  the  offering  ;  but  on  dis- 
covering that  the  ring  was  not  pure  gold,  but  only  copper 
gilt,  she  was  very  angry.  A  meeting  with  Olaf  was,  how- 
ever, arranged 'to  be  held  at  Konghelle.  The  queen  found 
that  the  Norwegian  monarch  expected  that  she  would,  as  a 
preliminary  step,  be  baptized,  but  to  this  she  indignantly 
declined  to  submit.  Olaf  was  very  angry,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Why  should  I  marry  a  heathen  hound  like  you  ?  "  and  so 
far  forgot  himself  as  to  strike  her  on  the  face  with  his  glove. 
"  This  will  be  your  bane,"  said  the  furious  queen  as  they 
parted.  Her  words  came  true,  as  we  shall  see.  Soon  after 

E2 


52  CHURCH    AND    STATE    IN    NORWAY. 

she  married  Svein  Tjugeskjseg,  the  king  of  Denmark,  who 
was  quite  ready  to  dispute  Olaf s  possession  of  Norway, 
from  whence  his  jarl  had  been  driven  by  the  coming  of 
Olaf  in  995. 

Having  upturned  heathenism  in  Tr0ndelagen,  Olaf  in 
998  and  999  turned  his  attention  again  to  Haalogaland, 
where  the  chiefs  had  resisted  his  first  attempt.  By  a 
stratagem  he  got  Haarek  of  Thjotta  into  his  power  and  had 
him  baptized,  and  on  his  promising  to  be  faithful  to  him 
sent  him  back  to  the  north.  Haarek  repaid  the  king  by 
capturing  Eivind  Kinnriva  and  sending  him  to  Nidaros. 
The  king's  threats  were  of  no  avail  against  this  brave 
heathen,  and  the  consequence  was  he  was  put  to  death  with 
horrible  cruelty.  Now  there  were  but  two  heathen  chiefs  left, 
Kaud  of  God0,  and  Hjort,  and  the  king  went  north  against 
them ;  they  were  soon  defeated.  Hjort  was,  after  an 
exciting  chase,  shot  by  the  king  himself  when  he  had  been 
brought  to  bay  by  Olaf 's  famous  dog  Vige,  and  Eaud,  who 
was  taken  prisoner,  and  followed  the  example  of  Eivind, 
was  barbarously  put  to  death.  So  ended  the  open  heathen 
resistance  in  the  north.  Before  this  expedition  Olaf  had 
spent  the  winter  in  Viken,  and  seems  to  have  attempted 
to  christianize  the  Oplands,  the  country  around  and  north 
of  the  Mi0sen  lake,  but  did  not  do  much  there,  and  the  final 
uprooting  of  heathenism  in  that  part  was  the  work  of 
St.  Olaf. 

In  the  space  of  about  four  years  Norway,  through  the 
vigorous  measures  of  King  Olaf,  had  thus  practically  become 
Christian.  The  methods  adopted  were  not  such  as  would 
commend  themselves  to  us  at  the  present  day,  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  as  the  work  went  on,  and  the  power 
of  the  king  increased,  he  became  much  more  cruel  towards 
those  who  resisted  him.  One  could  wish  that  for  the  sake 
of  Olafs  name  the  accounts  of  the  cruelties  which  were 
perpetrated  in  Haalogaland  were  not  true ;  but  there  seems 


OLAF  TRYGVESS0N.  58 

no  reason  to  doubt  them  for  a  moment,  and  the  writers  of 
the  Sagas  gloried  in  them  as  marks  of  the  king's  power 
and,  from  their  point  of  view,  as  acceptable  to  God. 

The  short  and  brilliant  reign  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n  was  now 
drawing  to  a  close.  We  have  seen  how  the  rejected  Queen 
Sigrid  had  vowed  vengeance  on  the  king,  and  almost  im- 
mediately after  the  incident  narrated  above,  had  married 
King  Svein  of  Denmark.  Just  at  that  time  Olaf  had 
married  Thyra,  the  sister  of  King  Svein,  who  had  been 
wife  of  King  Burislaf  of  Vendland,  but  had  separated  from 
him  and  taken  refuge  in  Norway.  This  marriage  much 
incensed  Svein,  and  his  union  with  Sigrid  made  another 
enemy  for  Olaf  in  the  Danish  court. 

Queen  Thyra's  insistance  on  her  husband  making  an  ex- 
pedition to  Vendland  to  recover  some  of  her  estates,  was 
for  a  long  time  disregarded  by  the  king  ;  but  at  last  he  gave 
way,  and  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1000  he  set  out  with 
a  powerful  fleet,  and,  without  encountering  opposition, 
secured  his  wife's  property. 

This  was  the  chance  for  which  Svein  and  Sigrid  were 
watching,  and  which  Erik  Jarl  (son  of  Haakon)  and  his 
brother  Svein  hailed  as  an  opportunity  for  avenging  their 
father's  death.  When  Olaf  was  returning  home — by  the 
treacherous  advice  of  Sigvald  the  Jomsviking,  who  was 
bribed  by  King  Svein — he  was  induced  to  allow  his  fleet 
to  scatter,  and  was  attacked,  when  he  had  only  eleven  ships, 
by  the  fleet  of  the  Danish  king  and  Erik  Jarl. 

The  ships  of  the  enemy  were  lying  in  wait  beside  the 
little  island  of  S voider,  near  Riigen,  and  when  the  advance 
part  of  Olaf  s  fleet  had  passed  out  of  sight,  emerged  from 
their  shelter  and  attacked  the  king  and  the  ten  ships  which 
were  with  him.  A.  fierce  fight  ensued.  Olaf  fought  with 
that  dauntless  courage  which  had  ever  sustained  him,  but 
the  odds  were  overwhelming.  Nearly  all  his  men  were 
slain,  the  king  himself  was  wounded,  and,  seeing  that  all 


54  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

was  lost  and  he  was  in  danger  of  being  taken  prisoner,  he  with 
his  devoted  friend  Kolbj0rn  Stallare,  sprang  overboard,  one 
from  each  side  of  the  ship.  Kolbj0rn  held  his  shield  under 
him  and  was  picked  up  at  once  by  Erik's  men,  who  mistook 
him  for  the  king,  but  Olaf,  who  held  his  shield  over  his 
head,  disappeared  and  was  seen  no  more.  There  can  be  no 
manner  of  doubt  that  the  king  was  drowned  ;  but  his  body 
was  never  recovered,  and  tradition  had  it  that  he  escaped 
and  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  died  in 
extreme  old  age  in  a  Syrian  monastery. 

Thus  ended  the  life  of  this  remarkable  man,  who  in  such  a 
short  space  had  effected  so  great  a  change  in  the  history  of  his 
native  land.  Of  his  character  and  methods  we  have  already 
spoken,  and  of  the  results  which  followed  from  his  missionary 
efforts  we  shall  speak  further  on,  when  we  come  to  the  reign  of 
his  famous  namesake.  His  death  was  a  fitting  close  to  his 
strange  and  eventful  life.  He  passed  away  as  the  Norsemen 
of  old  thought  it  noblest  to  do,  in  the  midst  of  the  fight. 
Like  Frederick  Barbarossa,  like  other  great  warriors  and 
kings,  famous  in  history  or  legend,  the  mystery  of  his  ending 
threw  a  glamour  of  romance  about  his  name ;  and  often  in 
after  days  it  may  have  been  that  many  a  Norseman  looked  for 
an  hour  when  the  hero  of  the  race  of  the  fair-haired  Harald 
would  come  back  again,  and  lead  them  to  victory  against  the 
enemies  of  the  "  White  Christ "  and  of  the  land  which  they 
loved  so  well. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  it  is  necessary  to  allude  to 
the  work  of  spreading  Christianity  in  Iceland,  which  was 
mostly  accomplished  under  the  king's  direction ;  for 
though  Iceland  was  then  an  independent  State,  it  was  in 
closest  connection  with  Norway,  from  whence  its  earliest 
Norse  inhabitants  had  come  in  the  reign  of  Harald 
Haarfagre. 

The  first  Christians  in  Iceland  were  the  Irish  monks 
who  had  sought  refuge  there  about  the  eighth  century,  at 


OLAF  TRYGYESS0N.  55 

a  time  when  Ireland  was  the  great  missionary  church  of 
the  West,  and  had  sent  its  missionaries  to  spread  the  faith 
all  over  the  Continent,  as  well  as  in  Scotland  and  the 
north  of  England.  St.  Gall,  labouring  in  Switzerland,  and 
St.  Columbanus  at  Bobbio,  in  the  north  of  Italy,  had  carried 
the  light  of  the  Gospel  among  the  barbarian  races  who  had 
established  themselves  in  the  land  of  the  fallen  Western 
Empire. 

The  Irish  hermits  found  in  Iceland  a  quiet  resting-place 
in  dark  and  troublous  times,  and  when  the  freedom-loving 
Northmen,  who  declined  to  submit  to  the  rule  of  Harald 
Haarfagre,  came  to  Iceland  they  found  before  them  some  of 
these  pious  men,  who  had  braved  the  perils  of  the  unknown 
seas  and  settled  there. 

These  Northmen  were  of  course  heathen,  and  carried  with 
them  the  worship  of  their  forefathers,  and  soon  erected 
their  temples  to  Odin  and  Thor,  and  drove  the  hermits  to 
seek  some  other  retreat. 

The  first  efforts  to  evangelize  the  new  settlers  were  made, 
some  fifteen  years  before  the  accession  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n, 
by  an  Icelander  named  Thorvald  Kodranss0n,  who  had  been 
a  Viking,  but  who  had  come  under  the  influence  of  Bishop 
Frederick  of  Saxony,  who  baptized  him.  This  man  induced 
the  bishop  to  accompany  him  to  Iceland  in  981,  and 
together  they  did  a  good  deal  of  work  in  the  part  of  the 
country  lying  in  the  east  and  north.  At  first  there  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  much  opposition,  but  when  they 
tried  to  induce  the  Althing  to  accept  the  faith,  the  heathen 
chiefs,  as  in  the  Things  of  Norway,  were  at  once  violent  in 
their  opposition.  The  controversy  at  one  gathering  became 
so  acute  that  Thorvald  in  rage  slew  two  of  his  opponents, 
and  was  then  driven  from  the  country. 

No  further  attempt  seems  to  have  been  made  until  after 
Olaf  had  been  accepted  as  king  in  Norway,  when  he  sent 
one  of  his  men,  an  Icelander,  named  Stefner  Thorgilss0n, 


56  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

to  resume  the  work.  He  commenced  his  labours  in  the 
south  and  west ;  but  his  zeal  aroused  the  heathen,  and  he 
was  banished  from  the  land,  and  returned  to  Norway  to 
King  Olaf.  Meanwhile  the  king  had,  in  the  usual  way, 
baptized  any  Icelanders  whom  he  met  with  in  Norway,  and 
sent  them  back  pledged  to  advance  Christianity  in  their 
own  country. 

Olaf  now  sent  a  missionary  of  another  kind.  When  he 
first  came  to  Norway  he  had  with  him,  among  the  priests 
with  Bishop  Sigurd,  a  man  named  Teodbrand,  who  was  a 
Saxon  priest,  said  to  be  the  son  of  a  nobleman.  This  man 
was  first  acquainted  with  Olaf  in  his  early  Viking  days,  and 
followed  his  adventurous  life  before  994.  He  was  a  clever 
man  and  a  very  eloquent  speaker,  but  of  a  most  violent 
temper,  and  acted  in  many  ways  in  a  manner  very  contrary 
to  his  calling.  After  995  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
church  which  had  been  erected  on  the  island  of  Moster,  in 
Hordaland,  and  there  enforced  his  doctrines  with  many 
"apostolic  blows  and  knocks,"  and  seems  to  have  lived 
more  as  a  Viking  than  a  Christian  priest. 

Tidings  of  his  misconduct  came  to  Olaf,  and  he  sent  for 
him  to  Nidaros  and  lectured  him  with  great  severity.  Teod- 
brand was  much  alarmed,  and  asked  the  king  to  allow  him 
to  atone  for  his  evil  deeds  by  undertaking  some  difficult 
and  dangerous  work.  Thereupon  Olaf  ordered  him  at  once  to 
Iceland.  When  he  got  there  his  eloquence  and  zeal  had 
considerable  effect ;  but  Teodbrand,  or  Thangbrand,  as  he 
was  also  called,  soon  broke  out  again  and  killed  two 
of  his  antagonists,  and  in  998 — 9  returned  to  Norway  to 
the  king.  In  spite  of  this  unworthy  missionary,  Christianity 
continued  to  make  progress  in  Iceland,  and  the  influence 
of  two  of  the  chiefs,  Gissurthe  White  and  Hjalte  Skjseggess0n, 
who  had  become  Christians,  was  so  great  that  in  the  year 
1000  the  Althing  accepted  Christianity  as  the  religion  of 
the  island. 


OLAF  TRYGVESS0K  57 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Faeroe  Islands,*  under  their  chief 
Sigmund  Bretess0n,  also  embraced  Christianity. 

It  was  about  the  year  1000  that  the  Northmen  from  Ice- 
land and  Greenland,  attempted  to  colonize  the  part  of  North 
America  known  to  them  as  Vinland,  so  called  because  the 
vine  grew  wild  there.  This  region,  which  is  generally 
thought  to  have  been  one  of  the  New  England  States,  was 
first  discovered  bv  Leif  Eriksson,  son  of  Erik  the  Red  (the 

7 
>f 

it- 
it 

EKKATUM. 

Page  57,  line  22,  for  "ratione,"  read  "relatione."  ,t 

b 
d 


.t 


__  __  ^ 

"non    fabulosa    opinione    sed    certa   comperimus    ratione 
Danorum"  (Gesta  Hamm.  Eccles.  Pont.,  Bk.  IY.,  c.  38). 

*  The  name  here  given  is  the  conventional  English  one,  and 
undoubtedly  incorrect.  It  should  be  Far<j>erne  Faer0  =  island  of  sheep 
or  cattle.  0erne  =  the  islands.  "  Faeroe  Islands  "  is  a  pleonasm. 


56  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

to  resume  the  work.  He  commenced  his  labours  in  the 
south  and  west  ;  but  his  zeal  aroused  the  heathen,  and  he 
was  banished  from  the  land,  and  returned  to  Norway  to 
King  Olaf.  Meanwhile  the  king  had,  in  the  usual  way, 
baptized  any  Icelanders  whom  he  met  with  in  Norway,  and 
sent  them  back  pledged  to  advance  Christianity  in  their 


first  c; 

with 

Saxon 

was  fi 

follow 

man 

temp 

to  hii 

chur< 

Horc 

"ap 

more  _____ 

Tidings  of  his  misconduct  came  to  UJai,  aim  i^  M^  ____ 
him  to  Nidaros  and  lectured  him  with  great  severity.  Teod- 
brand  was  much  alarmed,  and  asked  the  king  to  allow  him 
to  atone  for  his  evil  deeds  by  undertaking  some  difficult 
and  dangerous  work.  Thereupon  Olaf  ordered  him  at  once  to 
Iceland.  When  he  got  there  his  eloquence  and  zeal  had 
considerable  effect  ;  but  Teodbrand,  or  Thangbrand,  as  he 
was  also  called,  soon  broke  out  again  and  killed  two 
of  his  antagonists,  and  in  998  —  9  returned  to  Norway  to 
the  king.  In  spite  of  this  unworthy  missionary,  Christianity 
continued  to  make  progress  in  Iceland,  and  the  influence 
of  two  of  the  chiefs,  Gissur  the  White  and  Hjalte  Skjaeggess0n, 
who  had  become  Christians,  was  so  great  that  in  the  year 
1000  the  Althing  accepted  Christianity  as  the  religion  of 
the  island. 


OLAF  TRYGVESS0N.  57 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Fseroe  Islands,*  under  their  chief 
Sigmund  Bretess0n,  also  embraced  Christianity. 

It  was  about  the  year  1000  that  the  Northmen  from  Ice- 
land and  Greenland,  attempted  to  colonize  the  part  of  North 
America  known  to  them  as  Vinland,  so  called  because  the 
vine  grew  wild  there.  This  region,  which  is  generally 
thought  to  have  been  one  of  the  New  England  States,  was 
first  discovered  by  Leif  Erikss0n,  son  of  Erik  the  Ked  (the 
first  explorer  of  Greenland),  who,  returning  from  Norway 
to  Greenland,  was  driven  out  of  his  course  by  a  gale  of 
wind.  After  a  precarious  existence  as  a  Norse  colony,  it- 
was  finally  abandoned,  but  the  knowledge  of  the  continent 
of  North  America  always  survived  in  Iceland,  and  Leif 
Erikss0n,  not  Christopher  Columbus,  has  the  right  to  be 
regarded  as  the  undoubted  Discoverer  of  America. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  most  interesting  to  note  that 
Adam  of  Bremen,  in  the  second  half  of  the  eleventh 
century,  mentions  Vinland.  He  speaks  of  it  as  "  an  island 
(or  region)  .  .  .  which  is  called  Yinland  because  vines 
grow  there  wild,  producing  excellent  wine,  and  fruit 
abounds  there  which  has  not  been  planted  "  ;  then  he  adds, 
"non  fabulosa  opinione  sed  certa  comperimus  ratione 
Danorum"  (Gesta  Hamm.  Eccles.  Pont.,  Bk.  IV.,  c.  38). 

*  The  name  here  given  is  the  conventional  English  one,  and 
undoubtedly  incorrect.  It  should  be  Fczrfarne  Faer0  =  island  of  sheep 
or  cattle.  0erne  =  the  islands.  "  Faeroe  Islands  "  is  a  pleonasm. 


CHAPTER    VIL 
ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR. 

The  Interregnum  after  Svolder — Olaf s  Birth  and  Early  Days — His 
Coming  to  England — Goes  to  Normandy — Baptized  at  Rouen — 
Olaf  Sails  for  Norway  to  Claim  the  Throne — Accepted  in  Ringerike 
— First  Partial  Success — The  Crowning  Victory  of  Nesje — Olaf  as 
King  of  Norway — His  Character  and  Personal  Appearance — The 
State  of  the  Country  as  to  Christianity — Olaf  s  two  Great  Aims — 
His  Fellow -helpers  —  Olaf  as  an  Ecclesiastical  Law-giver  —  The 
Scope  of  Olaf's  Kristenret  —  The  Systematic  "Work  throughout 
Norway — Olaf's  Appeal  to  Bremen — Knut  the  Great  claims  Norway 
— Popular  Discontent  against  Olaf — Knut  wins  Norway  without  a 
Sword-stroke — Olaf's  Flight  to  Sweden  and  Gardarike — He  Returns 
to  Sweden,  and  again  Enters  Norway — The  Journey  to  Vaerdalen 
—The  King's  Forces  and  the  Rebels  — The  Rebel  Leaders— The 
Court  Bishop  Sigurd — The  Battle  of  Stiklestad  and  the  Martyrdom 
—The  Difficulty  as  to  the  Exact  Date— The  King's  Body  brought 
to  Nidaros  and  Buried  in  the  Sand. 

THE  events  of  the  fifteen  years  which  elapsed  between 
the  battle  of  Svolder  and  the  coming  of  Olaf  Haraldss0n  to 
claim  the  inheritance  of  the  race  of  Harald  Haarfagre, 
need  not,  from  a  purely  ecclesiastical  point  of  view,  detain 
us  long. 

After  the  death  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  Norway  reverted  to 
a  position  similar  to  that  of  the  days  of  Haakon  Jarl.  It 
ceased  to  be  a  kingdom,  and  became  a  vassal  State  of 
Denmark.  The  allies  who  compassed  the  death  of  Olaf 
divided  the  spoil.  Erik  Jarl  got  the  lion's  share,  and 
practically  held  all  the  west  of  Norway  from  Haalogaland 
to  Lindesnses.  Olaf  of  Sweden  (the  son  of  Queen  Sigrid), 
who  had  helped  at  Svolder,  received  the  country  east  and 
south  of  the  present  city  of  Christiania,  called  Kanrike, 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.        59 

and  also  four  fylker  in  the  north.  Svein  of  Denmark 
obtained  Viken  and  Agder.  Svein,  Erik  Jarl's  brother, 
held  the  parts  of  the  country  allotted  to  the  kings  of  Sweden 
and  Denmark,  and  so  the  two  brothers  between  them  ruled 
the  whole  of  Norway. 

The  two  jarls  were  (unlike  their  father)  Christians,  and 
they  seemed  to  have  ruled  well  in  their  several  districts  ; 
but  they  made  no  efforts  to  spread  Christianity,  and  in 
their  time  every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his 
own  eyes  in  all  matters  of  religion.  They  had  only  one 
rival  in  the  land,  and  that  was  Erling  Skjalgss0n,  who  had 
married  Astrid,  sister  of  King  Olaf,  and  resided  at  Sole,  in 
Jaederen,  a  few  miles  from  the  present  city  of  Stavanger. 
His  authority  extended  over  a  large  part  of  the  surrounding 
country,  and  the  brothers  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to 
attack  him. 

Erik  Jarl  had  as  his  great  supporter  in  the  north,  Einar 
Thamberskj elver,  a  noted  archer,  who  had  fought  alongside 
King  Olaf  at  8 voider,  but  had  accepted  the  alliance  offered 
him  by  Erik,  and  the  compact  was  cemented  by  his 
marriage  with  Bergliot,  the  sister  of  the  jarl. 

After  the  death  of  Svein  in  1013  Knut  the  Great  called 
on  his  vassal  Erik  for  aid  in  his  invasion  of  England,  and 
to  this  call  he  responded,  leaving  his  son  Haakon  in  his 
place,  with  his  uncle  Einar  as  his  guardian. 

Such  was  briefly  the  state  of  affairs  when  Olaf 
Haraldss0n  made  his  appearance  to  claim  his  kingdom. 
We  must  now,  however,  retrace  our  steps  and  consider 
the  early  life  of  the  future  saint  of  Norway. 

Harold  Grenske,  the  father  of  Olaf,  was  one  of  the  petty 
kings  who  ruled  in  Vestfold,  the  country  to  the  west  of  the 
Christiania  Fjord.  He  was  grandson  of  Bj0rn  Farmand, 
and  therefore  great-grandson  of  the  mighty  Haarfagre.  He 
received  the  name  of  Grenske  from  having  been  brought 
up  in  the  district  called  Gr0nland  (now  part  of  the 


00  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Telemark),  where,  in  his  early  days,  he  had  as  his  foster- 
sister  the  future  far-famed  Queen  Sigrid.  Harald  married 
Aasta  Gudbrandsdatter,  a  wise  and  prudent  woman;  but 
she  does  not  seem  to  have  had  much  influence  over  her 
rather  worthless  husband.  When  Queen  Sigrid  was  first  left 
a  widow,  Harald  Grenske,  although  his  wife  was  living,  at 
once  became  a  suitor  for  her  hand.  After  first  receiving 
his  advances  favourably,  the  haughty  queen  had  the  house 
in  which  Harald  was  staying  burned  down  one  night,  and 
he  perished  in  the  flames,  Sigrid  remarking  that  she  did  not 
want  any  of  these  small  kings  ! 

Very  soon  after  her  faithless  husband's  death,  Aasta  gave 
birth  to  Olaf,  who  thus,  like  his  namesake,  the  son  of 
Trygve,  was  born  after  his  father's  violent  death.  Some 
little  time  after  this  Aasta  married  Sigurd  Syr,  petty 
king  of  Eingerike,  and  another  great-grandson  of  Harald 
Haarfagre. 

In  his  stepfather's  home  Olaf  grew  up  a  strong  and  active 
lad.  At  the  early  age  of  twelve  years  he,  as  was  then 
customary,  started  on  a  Viking  cruise  (1007).  In  this,  his 
first  voyage,  which  was  to  the  Baltic,  he  had  as  his  instructor 
in  the  art  of  war  his  foster-father  Eane.  After  a  time  the 
scene  of  their  exploits  was  changed  to  England,  then  a 
promising  field  for  the  Northmen,  who  were  eager  for 
plunder.  In  1009  Olaf  seems  to  have  been  in  England 
with  Thorkel  the  Tall,  and  to  have  joined  in  the  various 
attacks  which  were  made  on  that  unfortunate  country 
during  the  reign  of  Ethelred  II. 

In  1012,  however,  we  find  him  and  his  friend  fighting  on 
the  side  of  Ethelred  in  the  defence  of  London  against  the 
attack  of  Svein,  and  it  was  on  that  occasion  that  "  London 
bridge  was  broken  down,"  in  accordance  with  the  stratagem 
of  Olaf,  who,  protecting  his  ships  from  the  Danes  who 
manned  the  bridge,  destroyed  the  piles  which  supported  it 
and  finally  broke  it  in  two.  Notwithstanding  this,  the 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MAETYR.        61 

cause  of  Svein  at  last  triumphed ;  Ethelred  was  obliged 
to  fly  to  Normandy,  and  Olaf,  faithful  to  his  ally,  followed 
him  to  that  country,  and  was  soon  at  home  among  the 
Norwegian  settlers  there.  Svein  died  in  1014,  and 
Ethelred  was  recalled  to  England. 

It  would  seem  most  probable  that  it  was  during  his  stay 
in  Normandy  that  Olaf  was  baptized.  It  is  true  that 
Snorre  states  that  the  future  saint  had  received  that  sacra- 
ment when  a  child  of  "  three  winters  old,"  during  the  visit 
paid  by  Olaf  Trygvess0n  to  Kingerike  about  the  year  997, 
when  a  number  of  people  in  that  part  of  the  country  were 
baptized.  Snorre's  account  seems  reasonable  enough  at 
first  sight,  but  we  have,  however,  evidence  to  the  contrary, 
which  renders  it  more  probable  that  his  baptism  was  deferred 
until  his  visit  to  Normandy.  That  he  was  a  believer  in 
the  Christian  faith  when  he  came  to  England  is  most 
probable,  but  that  he  had  not  yet  been  baptized  seems 
equally  clear. 

William  of  Jumieges,  in  his  Chronicle,  says  :  "  The  Duke 
[Richard]  .  .  .  called  to  his  aid  two  kings,  with  an  army 
of  Pagans — Olaf,  King  of  the  Norwegians,  and  Lacman, 
King  of  the  Swedes.'*  Then  he  mentions  their  going  to 
Rouen,  tl  where  the  Duke  Richard  welcomed  them  royally. 
.  .  .  Then  King  Olaf,  being  attracted  by  the  Christian 
religion,  as  were  also  some  of  his  followers ;  and  on  the 
exhortation  of  Robert  Archbishop  [of  Rouen],  was  converted 
to  the  faith  of  Christ,  was  washed  in  baptism  and  anointed 
with  holy  oil  by  the  archbishop,  and,  full  of  joy  at  the 
grace  he  had  received,  returned  straightway  to  his  own 
kingdom/' 

In  the  "  Passio  et  Miracula  Beati  Olaui,"  *  the  work  of 
the  great  Archbishop  Eystein,  the  same  statement  meets 
us  :  "  He,  when  he  had  learned  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  in 
England,  confessed  the  faith  with  all  his  heart,  and  with 

*  Cap.  I. 


62  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

zealous  devotion  of  mind  hastened  to  seek  the  grace  of 
baptism  in  the  city  of  Kouen.  Then,  being  purified  by 
the  font  of  Salvation,  he  was  immediately  changed  to 
another  man  ;  and,  as  the  apostle  says,  he  was  buried  with 
Christ  by  baptism  into  Death.  .  .  .  He  despised  every 
sort  of  vain  pleasure,  and  the  glory  of  an  earthly  kingdom 
became  as  dross  in  comparison  with  the  sweetness  of  the 
heavenly  one.  Although  he  held  a  kingly  position,  he  was 
poor  in  spirit." 

In  "  Breviarium  Nidrosiense,"  these  words  just  quoted 
formed  the  first  lection  which  was  used  in  the  service 
appointed  for  July  28th,  the  vigil  of  St.  Olaf.  It  seems 
clear,  therefore,  that  the  Norwegian  Church  believed  that 
Olaf  was  baptized  during  this  visit  to  Normandy. 

His  baptism,  and  confirmation  which  must  have  immedi- 
ately followed  it,  undoubtedly  served  to  deepen  the  religious 
feelings  of  Olaf,  and  filled  him  with  the  desire  to  carry  on 
and  complete  the  work  which  his  great  kinsman  and  name- 
sake had  begun  in  his  native  land ;  but  just  at  the  moment 
there  seemed  no  immediate  prospect  of  a  successful 
attempt  to  claim  the  throne  of  Norway,  and  so  he  waited. 

According  to  one  account,  he  meditated  passing  some 
time  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  but  was  warned  in 
a  dream  that  he  should  desist  and,  instead  of  this,  assert 
his  claim  to  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers. 

Olaf  was  a  man  of  very  great  discretion,  and  was  not 
ready  to  endanger  his  chances  of  success  by  any  premature 
move.  He  felt  sure,  from  what  he  knew  of  the  position  of 
affairs  both  in  Denmark  and  England,  that  the  time  would 
not  be  long  before  he  would  have  a  chance  of  asserting  his 
claims.  And  in  this  he  was  not  wrong. 

The  opportunity  for  which  Olaf  was  waiting  soon  came. 
Knut  the  Great,  who  had  succeeded  his  father  Svein, 
summoned  Erik  Jarl  to  aid  him  in  his  invasion  of  England, 
and  Olaf  felt  that  this  was  the  time  to  attempt  to  take 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.        63 

possession  of  the  kingdom  of  his  great  ancestor  Harald 
Haarfagre.  He  returned  to  England,  and  sailed  along  the 
coast  to  Northumbria,  plundering  as  he  went.  Finally  he 
set  sail  with  two  large  ships  and  two  hundred  and  sixty 
picked  men.  After  a  stormy  passage  they  came  safely  to 
the  island  of  Selje  without  meeting  any  opposition.  On 
landing,  Olaf  stumbled  and  fell  on  one  knee.  "  I  have 
fallen,"  he  cried  to  his  followers.  "You  have  not  fallen, 
0  King,"  said  his  foster-father  Kane;  "you  have  only 
taken  a  firm  hold  of  the  land."  "  So  be  it  if  God  wills/' 
said  Olaf. 

As  a  Heaven-sent  leader,  Olaf  proved  to  be  singularly 
fortunate  at  the  outset.  He  was  proceeding  south  from 
Selje,  and  when  a  little  north  of  the  Sogne  Fjord  he  had 
the  good  luck  to  capture  the  young  jarl  Haakon  Erikss0n, 
who  was  not  expecting  the  invader  in  that  part  of  the 
country.  Instead  of  putting  the  young  man  to  death,  as 
some  advised,  Olaf  set  him  free,  having  first  obliged  him 
to  swear  that  he  would  never  oppose  his  claims  on  Norway. 
This  generous  treatment  was,  for  the  time  at  least,  rewarded, 
and  the  young  jarl  went  at  once  to  his  uncle,  King  Knut. 
How  far  he  kept  the  promise  we  shall  see  later  on. 

After  this  encouraging  beginning,  Olaf  continued  his 
journey  round  the  coast  until  he  came  to  Viken,  where  he 
was  received  with  open  arms  by  his  amiable  stepfather, 
Sigurd  Syr.  This  petty  king  at  once  called  a  Thing,  and 
at  it  Olaf  was  chosen  as  king  without  any  opposition.  He 
was  still,  however,  very  far  from  the  overlordship  of 
Norway. 

Leaving  Viken  with  a  small  but  resolute  body  of  men,  he 
went  north  in  the  winter,  and  crossing  over  the  Dovre 
Fjeld,  appeared  suddenly  at  Nidaros,  to  the  astonishment  of 
the  Jarl  Svein,  who,  after  a  narrow  escape  of  being  taken 
prisoner,  fled  to  the  south.  The  people  of  Tr0ndelagen, 
however,  were  deeply  attached  to  the  family  of  the  jarl  of 


64  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

Hlade,  and,  recovering  from  their  first  surprise,  attacked 
Olaf  at  Nidaros  and  forced  him  to  return  again  to  Viken. 
He  then  saw  that  if  he  was  to  be  ultimately  successful,  he 
must  set  to  work  in  a  more  systematic  manner. 

Seeing  how  essential  it  was  to  have  the  supremacy  at 
sea,  he  spent  the  winter  of  1015 — 16  in  getting  together  a 
fleet  and  equipping  it  with  a  body  of  trained  men.  His 
opponent  Jarl  Svein  did  the  same  thing  in  the  north,  and, 
when  the  spring  was  come,  sailed  south  to  attack  his 
daring  invader. 

The  two  fleets  encountered  each  other  at  Nesjar,  or 
Nesje,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Langesund,  near  the  present 
town  of  Frederiksvsern.  There,  on  Palm  Sunday,  April  3rd, 
1016,  a  decisive  battle  was  fought  and  the  jarl,  being  signally 
defeated,  fled  to  Sweden,  intending  to  fit  out  a  fresh  fleet, 
but  died  soon  after  his  arrival  in  that  country. 

The  victory  at  Nesje  secured  Norway  to  Olaf.  Knut 
was  then  too  busy  with  the  conquest  of  England  to  be  able 
to  send  men  to  support  his  vassal's  cause  in  Norway,  and 
in  a  very  short  time  Thing  after  Thing  acknowledged 
Olafs  authority,  and  he  became  undisputed  monarch  of 
the  whole  land  ;  and  once  more,  as  in  the  days  of  Olaf 
Trygvess0n,  Norway  was  ruled  by  the  firm  hand  of  one 
man. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Olaf,  king  of  Sweden, 
would  at  once  acquiesce  in  this  new  state  of  affairs.  He 
sent  his  men  to  collect  taxes  in  those  provinces  which 
Jarl  Svein  had  held  under  him.  This  Olaf  Haraldss0n 
promptly  resented,  and  the  unfortunate  officials  were  either 
killed  or  driven  away.  Matters  appeared  for  a  time  to  be 
in  a  very  critical  state ;  but  the  people  of  neither  nation 
wished  for  war,  and  at  a  great  Thing  held  at  Upsala 
matters  were  for  a  time  peaceably  arranged. 

To  strengthen  the  defences  of  Norway  on  the  side  of 
Sweden,  Olaf  founded  the  town  of  Borg  (or  Sarpsborg,  as  it  is 


ST.   OLAF,   KING  AND   MARTYR.  65 

now  called),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Glommen,  near  the  Swedish 
frontier,  and  there  he  built  a  church.  Thus,  political  diffi- 
culties being  for  the  time  settled,  Olaf  was  able  to  devote 
himself  to  the  internal  affairs  of  his  country,  and  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  work  which  Olaf  Trygvess0n  had  begun,  in  the 
establishment,  on  a  firm  basis,  of  Christianity  in  Norway. 

Olaf  Haraldss0n  was  now  in  his  twenty-second  year — a 
very  youthful  monarch,  it  is  true,  but  one  of  very  varied 
experience.  He  had  begun  his  active  life  and  shared  in 
war  at  the  very  early  age  of  twelve  years,  so  that  when  he 
became  king  he  had  a  wider  knowledge  of  the  world  and 
its  ways,  than  that  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  most  of  his 
contemporaries  in  the  North. 

In  person,  King  Olaf  was  not  of  the  commanding  stature 
of  most  of  the  Norsemen.  He  was  of  middle  height,  but 
very  strongly  built,  and  inclined  to  stoutness,  which  led  his 
enemies  to  bestow  on  him  the  nickname  of  Olaf  Digre. 
Like  most  of  the  chiefs  of  his  time,  he  was  very  skilful  in 
the  use  of  weapons.  His  hair  was  auburn  in  colour,  inclin- 
ing to  red,  and  indeed  the  description  of  David  answers 
very  much  to  that  of  Olaf — "  he  was  ruddy  and  withal  of 
a  beautiful  countenance,  and  goodly  to  look  upon."  His 
eyes  (all  the  writers  of  the  Sagas  remark)  were  very 
piercing,  and  when  he  was  angry  his  men  dared  not  look 
him  in  the  face.^  In  his  inflexible  will  and  determination 
to  carry  out  whatever  he  had  undertaken  he  resembled  his 

*  Sigvat  the  Skald  thus  describes  the  effect  of  Olaf 's  glance  on  hia 
rebellious  subjects,  in  his  last  fight  at  Stiklestad  : — 

"  I  think  I  saw  them  shrink  with  fear  : 
Who  would  not  shrink  from  foeman's  spear, 
When  Olaf's  lion-eye  was  cast 
On  them,  and  called  up  all  the  past  ? 

"  Clear  as  the  serpent's  eye  his  look, 
No  Trondhjem  man  could  stand  but  shook 
Beneath  its  glance,  and  skulked  away 
Knowing  his  king,  and  cursed  the  day." 

(Laing's  Translation  of  the  Heimskringla.) 
C.S.N.  F 


66  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

great  ancestor  Haarfagre.  Very  generous  to  his  friends, 
and  often  to  his  enemies  when  they  fell  into  his  power, 
he  was  nevertheless  sometimes  very  cruel  to  those  who 
resisted  his  will,  especially  where  Christianity  was  con- 
cerned. Of  the  depth  and  sincerity  of  his  belief  in  the 
Christian  faith,  his  life  and  death  gave  proof,  and  although 
a  vast  amount  of  legend  has  gathered  round  the  "  Royal 
Saint "  of  Norway,  we  can,  notwithstanding,  very  easily 
form  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  character  of  the  man. 

It  is  well  here  to  consider  what  was  the  state  of  the 
country  with  respect  to  Christianity  when  Olaf  was  ready 
to  commence  his  work. 

We  have  seen  the  way  in  which  Olaf  Trygvess0n  went 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  giving  the 
people  the  alternative  of  baptism  or  the  sword,  and  that 
after  a  very  few  years  the  great  majority  of  his  subjects 
had  been  baptized.  It  is  perfectly  clear  that  in  cases  of 
enforced  baptism,  it  would  have  exercised  no  influence 
whatever  on  the  lives  of  those  who  had  received  it,  except 
in  the  comparatively  few  districts  where  the  king  had  had 
churches  built  and  priests  (more  spiritually-minded,  let  us 
hope,  than  Thangbrand)  placed  to  teach  the  people  the  faith. 

At  first  sight,  it  seems  to  us  almost  incredible  that  in 
such  a  short  space  of  time  a  large  body  of  heathen  should 
have  submitted,  even  nominally,  to  receive  Christianity, 
although  backed  up  by  force  of  arms.  There  is,  however, 
one  important  consideration  which  must  not  be  overlooked, 
and  to  which  we  have  before  alluded.^  There  was  no 
regular  heathen  priesthood  to  organize  the  opposition  to 
the  efforts  of  the  king.  The  priestly  offices  at  the  blots 
were  performed  by  the  head  of  the  family,  or  the  chief  of 
the  district.  This  absence  of  a  priestly  caste  was  an 
immense  help  in  the  rapid  spread  of  Christianity.  When, 
therefore,  the  chief,  or  some  of  the  principal  b0nder  of  the 
*  Chap,  i.,  p.  6. 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.         67 

fylke  had  been  baptized,  most  of  their  people  followed  like 
a  flock  of  sheep.  If  the  chief  allowed  the  hov  to  be 
demolished  there  was  no  other  place  in  which  the  worship 
of  the  gods  could  take  place. 

We  may  wonder  why  it  was  that  Olaf  Trygvess0n  and 
Olaf  the  Saint,  who  had  at  any  rate  some  fair  instruction  in 
the  Christian  faith,  and  were  accompanied  in  their  journeys 
and  work  by  such  good  men  as  Bishops  Sigurd  and  Grim- 
kell,  should  have  acted  in  a  way  which  might  naturally 
seem  to  us  now,  to  actually  profane  the  sacrament  of  holy 
baptism.  We  must,  however,  remember  that  in  acting  in 
this  way  they  were  only  following  exactly,  the  precedent 
set  before  them  by  the  restorer  of  the  Western  Empire, 
Karl  the  Great,  in  his  dealings  with  the  Saxons  and  other 
heathen  nations  of  northern  Europe. 

In  those  days,  and  in  the  minds  of  the  two  Olafs  and 
their  teachers,  holy  baptism,  even  when  thus  administered, 
was  regarded  as  (to  quote  the  words  of  St.  Paul)  "  a  trans- 
lation from  the  kingdom  of  darkness."  They  felt  that  if  it 
could  be  accomplished,  either  by  fair  means  or  foul,  the 
power  of  Thor  and  Odin — a  power  they  did  not  attempt  to 
despise — was  at  once  broken ;  and  so  they  believed  with 
all  sincerity,  that  no  matter  how  it  was  brought  about, 
whether  by  persuasion  or  torture,  if  the  people  could  be 
baptized  the  battle  was  practically  won. 

In  a  sense  this  was  true,  because  those  who  had  been 
baptized  had  at  any  rate  their  faith  shaken  in  the  power  of 
the  gods  their  fathers  worshipped.  Might  was  the  thing 
which  appealed  most  strongly  to  the  heathen  Norsemen, 
and  when  they  saw  that  their  gods  were  not  able  to  give 
them  the  victory  over  their  Christian  antagonists,  they 
were  ready  to  fall  in  with  the  creed  of  Harald  Haarfagre, 
and  to  believe  in  the  God  that  was  the  strongest. 

Then,  again,  with  many  of  the  heathen,  who  were  of  a 
very  superstitious  mind,  they  felt  that  their  baptism,  whether 


68  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

it  was  done  willingly  or  by  yielding  to  force,  was  an  act  which 
cut  them  off  entirely  from  the  old  gods,  and  made  a  return 
to  the  former  state  of  things  an  impossibility.  It  was  a 
Rubicon  which  when  once  crossed,  retreat  was  out  of  the 
question.  There  were,  it  is  true,  heathen  of  a  sterner  mould, 
like  Haakon  Jarl,  who  almost  immediately  after  his  baptism, 
put  his  priests  ashore  and  at  once  proceeded  to  sacrifice 
to  the  gods ;  but  with  the  majority  it  was  not  so,  and 
their  baptism  left  the  ground  cleared,  as  it  were,  for  the 
reception  of  real  Christianity. 

The  wholesale  destruction  of  temples  and  idols  by  Olaf 
Trygvess0n  (and  before  his  time,  by  Erik's  sons,  for  the 
purpose  of  plunder)  was  an  object-lesson  for  the  Northmen 
of  precisely  the  same  kind  as  that  afforded  by  Gideon  to 
the  people  of  Orphra^  in  connection  with  the  worship  of 
Baal.  If  Thor  and  Odin  were  the  powerful  gods  they  had 
believed  them  to  be,  how  was  it  they  did  not  resent  the 
destruction  of  the  temples  and  of  their  images  1  It  was 
clear  "  the  White  Christ "  was  the  strongest^  and  therefore 
they  would  be  safe  to  follow  Him.  The  early  Christian 
teachers  did  not  attempt  to  deny  altogether  the  existence 
of  the  old  gods,  but  they  taught  the  people  they  were 
devils  and  powers  of  evil,  which  Christ  came  to  cast  down 
and  destroy ;  and  our  Lord's  declaration,  "  All  power  is 
given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth,"  was  the  one  which 
perhaps  impressed  the  heathen  Northman,  and  led  him  to 
be  baptized,  much  more  than  any  promise  to  the  weary  and 
heavy  laden,  which,  with  other  nations  and  at  other  times, 
has  drawn  men  to  the  Son  of  Man.f 

*  Judges  vi.,  25-32. 

t  The  work  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  as  compared  with  that  of  Olaf 
Haraldss0n  (the  saint),  has  been  admirably  summed  up  by  the  Icelandic 
monk  Odd  when  he  says :  "  Olaf  Trygvess0n  prepared  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  Christianity,  but  St.  Olaf  built  the  walls  ;  Olaf  Trygvess0n 
planted  the  vineyard,  but  St.  Olaf  trained  up  the  vine  covered  with  fair 
flowers  and  much  fruit." 


ST.   OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.  69 

Such  was,  in  brief,  the  religious  condition  of  Norway 
when  Olaf  was  chosen  king  ;  for  the  interval  between 
the  death  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n  and  the  coming  of  Olaf 
Haraldss0n  was  so  short  that  no  material  change  had 
taken  place,  and  there  was  not  (as  in  the  time  of 
Haakon  Jarl)  any  heathen  reaction  under  the  Jarls  Erik 
and  Svein. 

King  Olafs  rule  in  Norway  was  guided  by  two  leading 
principles,  which  were  manifested  in  all  his  actions — First, 
the  completion  and  development  of  the  work  which  Olaf 
Trygvess0n  had  begun  in  christianizing  the  country ;  and, 
Secondly,  the  consolidation  of  his  kingdom  by  the  establish- 
ment of  the  rule  of  a  single  monarch,  making  it,  what 
Harald  Haarfagre  had  designed  it  to  be,  one  kingdom, 
under  one  king,  and  the  subjection  of  the  petty  kingdoms 
which  that  great  man  in  his  old  age,  to  the  manifest  injury 
of  the  land,  had  established.  These  two  principles  are  to 
be  seen  in  all  the  actions  which  marked  the  eventful  reign 
of  King  Olaf.  They  were  so  closely  connected  that,  as  we 
read  the  history  of  the  time,  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  the 
king's  journeys  through  Norway,  more  nearly  resembled  an 
episcopal  visitation  or  a  royal  progress. 

Olafs  chief  advisers  in  all  ecclesiastical  matters  were 
Bishops  Grimkell  and  Sigurd,  and  along  with  them  there 
were  of  course  priests.*  Of  their  names  we  have  no  very 
certain  knowledge,  though  two,  Eudolff  and  Bernhard, 
are  mentioned,  but  it  is  probable  that  Iceland,  and  not 
Norway,  was  the  scene  of  their  labours.  There  seems  no 
doubt  whatever  that  both  Grimkell  and  Sigurd  belonged 

*  Adam  of  Bremen,  Book  II.,  Chap.  lv.,  says  :  "  He  (Olaf)  had  with 
him  many  bishops  and  priests  from  England,  by  whose  admonition  and 
doctrine  he  himself  prepared  his  heart  for  God,  and  intrusted  his  people 
to  be  guided  by  them.  Amongst  these  Sigafrid,  Grimkell,  Rudolf,  and 
Bernhard  were  renowned  for  their  teaching  and  virtues." 

f  This  Rudolf  seems  to  have  returned  to  England  in  1050,  and  to 
have  become  abbot  of  the  Monastery  of  Abingdon. 


70  CHURCH  AND   STATE    IN  NORWAY. 

to  the  English  Church,  and  were  either  Englishmen  by 
birth  or  bringing-up.  In  any  case  their  connection  and 
inclinations  lay  in  the  way  of  Anglo-Saxon,  and  not 
German,  Christianity.  In  England  at  that  time  there 
were  of  course,  in  the  eastern  counties,  a  large  number  of 
clergy  of  Norse  extraction,  and  naturally  Olaf  would  have 
selected  them  to  accompany  him  to  Norway,  on  account 
of  their  knowledge  of  the  language  and  customs  of  the 
Northmen.  Political  reasons  also,  at  the  time  of  Olaf  s 
adventurous  journey  to  Norway,  would  have  prevented 
his  applying  to  Bremen,  the  metropolitan  see  of  the  North 
of  Europe,  for  it  was  in  close  connection  with  Denmark, 
where  Knut  the  Great  ruled,  and  whose  authority  over 
Norway,  Olaf  went  to  dispute.  Later  on  in  Olaf  s  reign, 
it  is  true,  he  had  to  apply  to  Bremen  for  help  in  his  work, 
but  the  reason  for  that  was  again  political,  and  not  eccle- 
siastical. His  enemy  Knut  was  in  power  in  England,  and 
supplies  from  that  country  were,  to  a  certain  extent  at 
any  rate,  practically  stopped,  as  the  English  bishops  would 
not  have  wished  to  consecrate  or  ordain  men,  for  service 
under  the  rule  of  the  antagonist  of  such  a  powerful  king 
as  Knut  the  Great. 

It  is  best  perhaps  at  this  point  to  speak  of  the  work  of 
Olaf  as  a  Church  lawgiver.  We  have  no  certain  informa- 
tion as  to  the  exact  period  in  which  he  drew  up  his 
Christian  code,  but  it  was  doubtless  within  the  first  ten 
years  of  his  reign.  He  was  too  wise  and  far-seeing  to 
have  postponed  it  longer  than  was  absolutely  necessary, 
but  he  had  first  to  establish  his  power  in  the  land  before 
he  began  the  great  work  of  his  life.  Olaf  saw  clearly  from 
the  commencement  of  his  reign,  that  if  heathenism  was  to 
be  entirely  eradicated  from  among  his  people,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  laws  of  the  land  should  be  brought  into 
conformity  with  Christian  usages  and  customs.  He  there- 
fore set  to  work  to  draw  up  a  Christian  code.  Snorre  tells 


ST  OLAP,  KINO  AND  MARTYR.  71 

us  that  he  had  often  read  to  him  the  laws  which  Haakon 
the  Good  had  given  to  Tr0ndelagen,  but  these  had  not 
any  direct  reference  to  Christianity.  Then  he  decided  that 
a  new  code  should  be  drawn  up,  which  would  embody  all 
those  points  in  which  Christianity  affected  the  life  of  the 
people.  It  would  seem  likely  that  for  this  purpose  Olaf 
called  together  an  assembly  of  his  bishops,  clergy,  and 
other  learned  men  at  Moster,  a  spot  sacred  as  the  place 
where  his  great  predecessor,  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  had  landed, 
and  where  he  had  built  a  church.  This  gathering  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  an  ordinary  Thing,  but  partook  some- 
what of  the  nature  of  a  synod,  at  which  the  laity  were 
represented  equally  with  the  clergy.  The  code  there 
agreed  upon  was  known  as  Olaf's  Kristenret,  and  it  is 
always  spoken  of  as  the  joint  work  of  Olaf  and  Bishop 
Grimkell.  This  Kristenret  Olaf  seems  to  have  taken  round 
the  country  with  him,  and,  having  been  read  and  explained, 
it  was  adopted  by  the  great  Things,  and  thus  became  a 
part  of  the  law  of  the  land.  The  original  form  of  this 
law  has  not  survived.  What  we  now  possess  dates  from 
the  time  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n  (1155 — 1184),  though 
possibly  it  may  belong  to  the  reign  of  Eystein  (1103 — 
1123).  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  it  embodies, 
with  but  little  deviation,  the  original  law  which  Olaf  pro- 
mulgated, which  had  been  preserved  both  orally  and  in 
written  form. 

The  scope  of  this  law  we  give  below,  but  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  it  always  claims  the  name  and  authority  of 
the  royal  saint  and  his  famous  adviser,  and  the  phrase  is 
reiterated  throughout  "  as  King  Olaf  and  Bishop  Grimkell 
appointed  at  the  Moster  Thing." 

Much  of  this  law  was  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  the  canon  law,  with  which  the  king's  English-bred 
bishops  and  priests  must  have  been  familiar,  and  in  dealing 
with  heathen  practices  the  advice  given  by  Gregory  the 


72  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Great  to  the  Abbot  Mellitus  *  was  followed  and  heathen 
customs  as  far  as  possible  christianized. 

It  is  important  to  note  carefully  the  lines  upon  which 
this  ecclesiastical  legislation  of  Olaf  proceeded,  as  in  later 
times  much  controversy  arose  between  the  kings  and  the 
Church  in  connection  with  the  Kristenret,  and  the  former, 
at  the  commencement  of  their  reigns,  swore  to  observe  the 
Kristenret  "  as  given  by  Olaf  the  Saint." 

The  new  law  did  not  aim  at  making  any  change  in  the 
methods  of  government  or  civil  duties,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  were  heathen. 

We  may  note  them  under  different  heads — 

I.  Purely  ecclesiastical  matters. 

(a)  The  building  and  maintenance  of  churches. 

(b)  Church  officials  :  their  rights  and  duties. 

(c)  The  observance  of  the  Holy  days  and  Fast  days. 

*  Quoted  by  Bede,  "  Eccles.  Hisfc."  : — "  I  have  upon  mature  delibera- 
tion determined  that  the  temples  of  the  idols  in  that  nation  should  not 
be  destroyed,  but  let  the  idols  that  are  in  them  be  destroyed.  Let 
holy  water  be  prepared  and  sprinkled  in  the  said  temple,  let  altars  be 
erected  and  relics  placed,  for  if  these  temples  are  well  built  it  is  requisite 
that  they  be  converted  from  the  worship  of  devils  to  the  service  of  the 
true  God.  That  the  nation  seeing  that  their  temples  are  not  destroyed, 
may  remove  error  from  their  hearts,  and  knowing  and  adoring  the  true 
God  may  the  more  familiarly  resort  to  the  places  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed.  And  because  they  have  been  used  to  slaughter  many 
oxen  in  sacrifice  to  devils,  some  solemnity  must  be  exchanged  for  them 
on  this  account,  as  that  on  the  day  of  dedication,  on  the  nativities  of 
holy  martyrs  whose  relics  are  there  deposited,  they  may  build  themselves 
huts  of  the  boughs  of  trees  about  those  churches  which  have  been  turned 
to  that  use  from  temples,  and  celebrate  the  solemnity  with  religious 
feasting  and  no  more  ofler  beasts  to  the  devil,  but  kill  cattle  to  the 
praise  of  God  in  their  eating,  and  return  thanks  to  the  Giver  of  all 
things  for  their  sustenance ;  to  the  end  that  while  some  gratifications 
are  outwardly  permitted  them  they  may  more  easily  consent  to  the 
inward  consolations  of  the  grace  of  God."  (Bk.  1,  c.  30.) 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  nearly  500  years  after  the  above  we 


I 
8  2 


o 

UJ        S 


ST.   OLAF,   KING  AND  MARTYR.  73 

(d)  Holy  Baptism  and  the  bringing  up  of  Children. 

Exposing  infants  forbidden,  except  in  case  of 
monstrosities,  who  were  to  be  brought  to  the 
church  and  primsigned,  and  then  either  killed 
or  left  outside  the  church  to  die. 

(e)  Burials.     All  except  outlaws  and  suicides  were  to 

be  buried  in  the  churchyard. 
(/)  Marriage,  and  the  forbidden  degrees. 

II.  Heathenism:  the  worship  of  the  gods  an  d  witchcraft  9 
or  Troldom. 

All  this  forbidden  under  the  severest  penalties. 

III.  Heathen  social  customs. 

The  reforms  in  this  respect  dwelt  largely  with  the 
assemblies  known  as  0lgerdir,  social  gatherings  at  which 
beer  was  solemnly  drunk  in  honour  of  the  gods.  In  former 
days  these  took  place  in  the  heathen  temples  after  the 
great  blots,  when  the  presiding  chief,  or  whoever  conducted 
the  ceremonial,  gave  the  skaal  or  toast  in  honour  of  Thor, 
Freya,  &c.  In  accordance  with  the  guiding  principle  of 
the  English  mission,  it  was  decided  not  to  suppress  these 
social  events,  but  to  give  them  the  sanction  and  approval 
of  the  Church.  The  law  provided  for  their  continuance, 
and  directed  that  where  three  families  could  meet  together 
and  have  a  common  feast,  skaals  were  to  be  drunk  (the 
beer  having  been  first  blessed)  "  in  honour  of  Christ  and 
the  Blessed  Virgin  for  good  years  and  peace."  Fines  were 
imposed  for  a  breach  [of  these  regulations.  The  0lgerdir 
were  usually  held  at  stated  times,  but  it  is  not  certain 
whether  they  were  held  exactly  at  the  same  time  as  the 

find  the  custom  of  building  booths  survived  in  the  north  of  England. 
In  the  "  Boldon  Book  "  it  is  mentioned  that  villeins  near  Auckland 
were  bound  as  part  of  their  services  to  their  Lord  (the  bishop)  to  erect 
eighteen  booths  (bothas)  at  the  fair  of  St.  Cuthbert. 


74  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

old  heathen  blots,  or,  according  to  some  authorities,  on  All 
Saints'  day,  Christmas,  and  St.  John  the  Baptist's  day. 

IV.  Abolition  of  slavery. 

In  the  olden  days  it  was  the  custom  to  offer  up  thralls 
as  sacrifices  to  the  gods  before  the  Thing  began,  and  there 
was  doubtless  a  great  deal  of  cruelty  practised  towards  the 
slaves.  But  the  coming  of  Christianity  to  Norway,  as 
elsewhere,  soon  made  a  change  in  this  respect.  Instead  of 
sacrificing  a  thrall  at  the  Thing,  the  law  provided  that  one 
should  be  set  free.  This  was  to  take  place  on  the  first 
Sunday  during  the  meeting  of  the  Thing.  It  was  also 
provided  that  one  should  be  liberated  every  Christmas. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  legislation  which  Olaf  and  his 
advisers  introduced  in  order  to  make  the  laws  in  harmony 
with  Christianity.  We  must  not  think  that  exactly  the 
same  law  was  accepted  over  the  whole  land.  Modifica- 
tions were  made  in  different  districts,  as,  for  example,  in 
the  south-eastern  part  of  Norway,  in  Viken,  where  we  do 
not  find  the  laws  respecting  the  0lgerdir,  or  the  liberation 
of  thralls.  The  reason  for  this  very  possibly  is,  that  in  that 
part  of  the  country  the  work  of  the  earliest  missionaries 
had  rendered  such  legislation  unnecessary.'55' 

We  are  now  able  to  resume  the  history  of  Olaf 's  work 
after  this  long,  but  necessary,  digression. 

Having  thus  made  preparations  for  bringing  the  law  of 
the  land  into  conformity  with  Christianity,  Olaf  determined 
to  carry  out  his  work  in  a  thoroughly  systematic  manner, 

*  A  remarkable  collection  of  the  ancient  laws  of  Norway  is  now  to 
be  found  in  the  Norges  Gamle  Love,  in  five  large  volumes,  published 
by  the  Norwegian  Government  at  intervals  between  1846  and  1895. 
They  contain  all  that  now  remains  of  the  laws  of  the  early  part  of 
the  middle  ages,  including  the  law  of  older  Gula,  Frosta,  Eidsiva,  and 
Borgar  Things  and  various  Kristenretter ;  and  also  a  vast  variety  of 
documents  relating  to  both  Church  and  State. 


ST.   OLAF,  KING  AND   MARTYR.  75 

and  to  leave  no  part  of  Norway,  from  Haalogaland  to 
Lindesnses,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Christian  faith, 
without  a  church  and  without  a  teaching  priest. 

To  give  a  detailed  account  of  all  these  journeys,  and  the 
way  in  which  he  often  coerced  his  unwilling  people,  would 
occupy  too  great  a  space,  as  it  is  a  subject  on  which  the 
writers  of  the  Sagas  have  given  most  abundant  information. 
It  is  impossible,  however,  to  pass  it  over,  as  the  history  of 
his  reign  is  essentially  the  history  of  the  foundation  and 
organization  of  the  Church  of  Norway.  But  as  there  is  so 
much  similarity  between  the  incidents  recorded  in  the 
struggle  against  heathenism,  it  will  be  sufficient  only  to 
describe  the  most  striking  scenes  in  the  conflict. 

After  being  formally  accepted  as  king,  he  began  his 
systematic  work  in  Viken,  the  same  district  where  his 
famous  namesake  wisely  made  his  first  attempt.  Little  or 
no  opposition  was  encountered  in  this  part,  as  the  inhabitants 
had,  for  a  very  considerable  period,  been  more  or  less  under 
Christian  influences. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1017  he  passed  from  his  newly- 
founded  town  of  Borg  (Sarpsborg)  to  the  district  known  as 
the  Oplands,  that  part  of  Norway  lying  around  the  Mi0sen, 
the  largest  lake  in  the  country.  Here  he  found  abundant 
scope  for  his  labours,  for  those  parts  of  Norway  which  lay 
away  from  the  coast  line,  had  been  but  little  affected  by  the 
efforts  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  and  the  Oplands,  Gudbrandsdal 
and  Valders  were  the  last  to  receive  Christianity. 

In  the  Oplands,  Olaf  acted  with  extreme  severity,  and 
indeed  barbarity,  against  those  who  refused  to  be  baptized — 
death  or  horrible  mutilations  awaited  those  who  resisted  the 
king.  The  same  treatment  was  bestowed  on  all,  high  and 
low  alike. 

While  this  was  going  on  a  dangerous  conspiracy  was 
hatched  against  the  king.  In  the  Oplands  there  still 
remained  five  petty  kings  or  chiefs,  and  they  quickly  saw 


76  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

that  it  was  the  intention  of  Olaf  to  get  rid  of  all  royal 
power  except  his  own.  They  had  consented  to  Olaf s 
accession  to  the  overlordship,  and  hoped  to  have  been  left 
in  peace.  The  chief  conspirator  was  R0rek,  who  had  his 
home  at  Eingsaker,  on  the  Mi0sen.  The  plot  was  betrayed 
to  the  king,  who,  by  a  rapid  move,  secured  the  five  kings. 
E0rek  was  blinded,  another  had  his  tongue  cut  out,  and 
the  other  three  were  banished.  The  only  remaining  petty 
king  in  Norway  was  now  the  harmless  Sigurd  Syr,  Olaf  s 
stepfather;  but  in  the  winter  of  1018  he  died,  and  from  that 
time  onwards  there  were  no  more  of  these  kings.  Sigurd  Syr 
had  by  his  marriage  with  Olaf  s  mother,  a  son  who  was  after- 
wards to  play  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  Norway, 
and  we  shall  meet  with  him  again  as  Harald  Haardraade. 

King  Olaf  remained  in  the  south  for  a  considerable  time, 
as  the  state  of  affairs  with  Sweden  demanded  his  attention. 
The  Swedish  king  had  become  so  unpopular  with  his 
subjects  that  he  was  forced  to  accept  his  young  son,  Aanund 
Jacob,  as  under-king.  After  prolonged  negotiations  a 
permanent  peace  was  arranged  between  Norway  and 
Sweden,  and  the  former  country  received  back  again  the 
provinces  which  had  fallen  to  Olaf  of  Sweden's  share,  after 
the  division  of  Norway  between  Svein  Tjugeskjseg  and  the 
two  jarls,  which  was  his  reward  for  the  help  given  at  the 
battle  of  Svolder.  The  peace  with  Sweden  was  further 
cemented  by  the  marriage  of  Olaf  to  Astrid,  the  daughter 
of  the  Swedish  king.  These  matters  interrupted  for  a  time 
King  Olaf  s  crusade  against  heathenism,  and  it  was  the 
summer  of  1019  before  he  was  able  to  go  north  to  Nidaros. 
That  year  and  the  one  following  were  devoted  to  the 
districts  north  of  Trondhjem,  Namdalen,  and  Haalogaland, 
where  he  made  systematic  investigations,  built  churches, 
and  appointed  priests  to  minister  to  the  people,  and  at  the 
various  Things  which  he  called,  he  had  the  Kristenret 
accepted. 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.        77 

The  harvests  in  these  years  had  been  very  bad,  and  the 
king  had  reason  to  suspect  that  the  b0nder,  seeing  in  their 
misfortunes  the  wrath  of  the  old  gods  (as  they  had  formerly 
noticed  in  the  days  when  Harald  Graafell  and  his  brothers 
destroyed  the  temples  for  their  spoils),  had  begun  again  to 
offer  sacrifices  at  the  old  appointed  times.  In  this  he  was 
not  wrong,  and  the  evil  was  not  far  off.  At  the  northern 
end  of  the  Trondhjem  Fjord  was  the  place  of  the  great 
heathen  gathering  (Mseren),  where  Olaf  Trygvess0n  had 
destroyed  the  image  of  Thor  and  where  Jernskjsegge  had 
been  slain.  The  chief  man  in  that  part  was  now  01ve  of 
Egg,  and  Olaf  sent  for  him  demanding  an  explanation  of 
the  rumours  which  had  reached  him.  01ve  was  a  very 
astute  man,  and  contrived  to  satisfy  the  king  with  a  plau- 
sible explanation  as  to  the  gatherings  at  Meeren.  This  was 
in  October  of  1020,  and  again  after  the  January  feast  he 
seems  to  have  been  able  to  give  reasons  which  at  any  rate 
the  king  listened  to,  and  took  no  further  steps.  It  was, 
however,  quite  true  that  the  old  heathen  rites  had  been 
revived  and  sacrifices  offered.  Olaf  was  by  no  means 
satisfied  that  all  was  well,  and  kept  a  careful  watch,  and 
when  the  time  of  the  sommer  blot  (which  was  held  in  April) 
came  round,  he  made  a  sudden  descent  on  Mseren  and 
caught  the  crafty  01ve  and  a  large  number  of  the  b0nder 
in  the  very  act  of  sacrificing.  01  ve  was  promptly  put  to 
death,  along  with  others,  and  his  property  confiscated,  and 
the  rest  were  severely  punished  and  afterwards  feared  to 
resist  the  king's  will. 

Olaf  now  resumed  his  work  in  the  central  parts  of 
Norway.  He  sailed  from  Nidaros,  and  leaving  his  ships  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Eomsdal,  went  over  into  the  great 
Gudbrandsdal,  which  at  that  time  was  ruled  with  almost 
royal  authority,  by  the  famous  chief,  Dale  Gudbrand,  whose 
family  had  given  the  name  to  the  valley.  At  Hundthorp 
the  chief  resided,  and  it  was  a  centre  of  heathen  worship. 


78  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

A  long  and  picturesque  account  is  given  in  the  Sagas  of  the 
way  in  which  Olaf  and  his  men  destroyed  the  image  of 
Thor  and  conquered  the  antagonism  of  the  b0nder,  but  it 
is  unnecessary  to  give  it  in  detail.  The  result  was  the 
same  as  in  other  places — they  were  all  baptized  and  a 
church  was  built,  and  a  priest  left  to  teach  the  people. 

From  Gudbrandsdal  he  went  south  and  east,  everywhere 
spreading  the  faith  and  laying  the  foundation  for  future 
work. 

It  would  seem  likely  that  it  is  about  this  period  that 
we  must  place  Olaf  s  application  to  Archbishop  Unwan  of 
Bremen  for  help  in  his  work,  by  sending  to  him  clergy  to 
minister  to  his  people.  The  reasons  which  led  Olaf  to  take 
this  step  we  have  already  noted.  All,  or  nearly  all,  of  his 
first  clerical  helpers  came  from  England ;  but  at  this  time 
the  authority  of  Knut  the  Great  was  firmly  established,  and 
as  that  monarch  regarded  Olaf  as  an  intruder  who  declined 
to  recognize  his  overlordship,  it  was  practically  impossible 
for  the  Norwegian  monarch  to  receive  any  longer  the  help 
which  he  had  at  the  beginning.  Under  these  circumstances 
the  king  had  to  look  elsewhere,  and  the  nearest  and  most 
convenient  place  was  the  great  Metropolitan  see  of  the  North 
at  Bremen.  It  is  curious  that  the  Norwegian  authorities  at 
this  time  are  silent  on  this  point,  and  it  is  to  Adam  of  Bremen 
alone  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  information.  There  seems 
no  reason  to  doubt  the  fact,  which  is  so  plainly  stated  by 
Adam,  especially  when  we  know  that  there  was  practically 
no  other  course  open  to  Olaf,  but  to  apply  to  Bremen. 

Just  about  the  time  of  Olaf  s  expedition  to  Norway,  Arch- 
bishop Libentius  died  (1013),  and  his  successor  was  Unwan, 
who  held  the  see  from  1013  to  1029.  He  was  a  monk  of 
Paderborn,  and  was  much  liked,  especially  by  his  clergy. 
It  was  to  this  man  that  Olaf  turned  for  help.  Adam, 
without  clearly  indicating  the  date,  says  :  "  He  (Olaf)  sent 
also  ambassadors  to  our  Archbishop  (Unwan)  with  gifts, 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.        79 

praying  that  he  should  receive  these  bishops  kindly,  and 
would  send  some  of  his  own  bishops  to  him,  who  should 
strengthen  and  confirm  the  rude  Norwegians  in  the  faith." 
How  far  the  petition  of  King  Olaf  was  answered  by  the 
Bremen  Archbishop  we  have  no  certain  means  of  knowing, 
and  it  would  appear  that  not  long  after  it  was  preferred, 
Olaf  himself  was  a  fugitive  from  his  native  land,  and  only 
returned  to  meet  his  death  on  the  fatal  field  of  Stiklestad. 
In  1023  we  find  him  in  the  south  and  west,  from  whence 
he  passed  to  the  districts  of  Sogn  and  Valders.  The  last 
named  was  a  region  more  isolated  than  other  parts  of 
Norway,  as  the  vast  mountain  district,  now  known  as 
the  Jotunheimy  cut  it  off  from  the  north,  and  wild  moun- 
tain ranges  from  the  west  and  south.  With  his  customary 
rapidity  Olaf  reached  the  Lille  Mi0sen  lake,  and  called  a 
Thing  where  his  proposals  with  regard  to  Christianity  were 
very  unfavourably  received,  but  the  king  with  great 
skill  managed  to  avert  an  outbreak  and  set  the  b0nder 
quarrelling  among  themselves.  Then  at  night  he  seized 
their  boats  and  began  to  attack  and  burn  the  farms, 
each  man  rushed  off  to  save  his  own,  and  when  their  forces 
were  divided,  the  king  was  able  to  bring  them  to  terms. 
Then  he  followed  the  long  chain  of  lakes  which  extends 
through  the  district,  not  being  strong  enough  in  men,  to 
risk  the  land  journey,  but  everywhere  carrying  out  the 
purpose  he  had  in  hand,  and  providing  Christian  teachers 
to  carry  on  the  work. 

The  next  year,  1024,  may  be  said  to  have  witnessed  the 
completion  of  Olaf  s  great  work.  Norway,  from  one  end 
to  the  other,  was  at  any  rate  nominally  Christian  ;  the  laws 
had  been  brought  into  conformity  with  the  new  faith,  and 
only  in  secret  could  sacrifices  be  offered  to  Odin  and  Thor. 
"There  was  no  remote  valley  or  outlying  island  in  his 
kingdom,"  says  the  Saga,  "  where  a  heathen  man  could 
be  found." 


80  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

We  must  now  turn  to  the  events  which  led  up  to  the 
fall  of  Olaf's  power  in  Norway,  his  expulsion  and  subse- 
quent return  and  martyrdom.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  such  a  powerful  and  ambitious  monarch  as  Knut  the 
Great,  would  be  content  to  lose  the  supremacy  which  he 
claimed  over  Norway  without  an  effort  to  regain  it.  In 
the  earlier  years  of  Olaf's  reign,  however,  Knut  was  too 
much  occupied  in  consolidating  his  authority  in  England, 
though  he  did  not  forget  his  claim  on  Norway.  In  the 
year  1025  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Olaf  ordering  him  to 
appear  before  him  in  England  and  receiving  back  Norway 
as  a  fief  from  the  Danish  king,  to  render  the  tribute 
which  the  jarls  had  paid  to  Svein.  We  can  well  imagine 
how  such  a  message  would  have  filled  Olaf  with  rage,  for, 
next  to  the  spread  of  Christianity,  the  consolidation  and 
independence  of  his  kingdom  was  the  great  object  of  his 
life.  He  heard  the  ambassadors  to  the  end,  and  then 
dismissed  them  with  his  answer  to  the  mighty  Knut. 
"  Bring  him  my  words,"  he  said ;  "  I  will  defend  Norway 
hill  and  dale  as  long  as  life  is  granted  to  me,  and  I  will  pay 
skat  to  no  man  for  my  kingdom." 

After  this  Olaf  saw  that  he  must  prepare  to  defend  his 
crown,  and  he  knew  well  the  mighty  power  which  Knut 
could  wield.  He  accordingly  formed  a  defensive  alliance 
with  his  brother-in-law,  Aanund  Jacob  of  Sweden,  and  got 
his  fleet  together. 

Knut  the  Great  was  in  Eome,  on  his  pilgrimage,  in  1026, 
so  just  then  they  felt  safe  from  attack.  The  allies  decided 
to  strike  the  first  blow,  and  with  their  united  fleets  they 
made  a  descent  on  Denmark.  On  the  approach  of  Knut 
they  retired,  and  a  fierce  but  indecisive  battle  was  fought 
at  Helgeaaen,  in  Skaane.  The  Swedish  fleet  dispersed,  and 
Olaf,  not  finding  himself  strong  enough  to  resist  Knut 
alone,  left  his  ships  in  Skaane,  and  went  overland  to  Viken. 
Knut  had  been  at  work  for  some  time  in  endeavouring  to 


ST.   OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.  81 

seduce  the  great  chiefs  in  Norway  from  their  allegiance  to 
Olaf.  In  the  north  Haarek  of  Thjotta,  Einar  Thamber- 
skj  elver,  Thore  Hund,  and  Kalv  Arness0n  were  all  ready 
to  take  part  against  their  king ;  the  latter  had  received 
from  Olaf  the  land  of  the  heathen  01ve  of  Egg,  and  was 
a  very  powerful  chief,  who  owed  much  to  the  king.  In 
the  south,  the  great  Erling  Skjalgss0n  of  Sole  was  also 
ready  to  join  with  the  king's  enemies.  Thus  we  see  all 
the  most  prominent  men  in  the  country,  who  had  felt  the 
severity  with  which  Olaf  ruled,  and  who  knew  that  in  his 
justice  he  had  the  same  law  for  rich  and  poor,  were  all 
united  against  him,  and  ready  to  sacrifice  their  national 
independence  for  the  hope  of  personal  gain  and  power. 

There  was  also  at  this  time  in  the  land,  among  the 
people  generally,  a  feeling  of  hostility  against  the  king. 
The  extreme  severity  of  the  way  in  which  he  had  treated 
those  who  resisted  his  efforts  in  spreading  Christianity  had 
raised  up  enemies  on  all  sides,  and  many  of  the  b0nder 
thought  that  a  change  might  let  them  have  their  own 
way  a  little  more.  Indeed,  a  very  decided  reaction  had 
set  in.  Olafs  ea.rly  popularity  was  on  the  wane,  but 
the  feeling  of  hostility  was  not  directed,  as  we  might 
have  supposed,  so  much  against  Christianity,  as  against 
the  king  personally. 

When,  then,  Knut,  with  a  great  fleet,  sailed  for  Nidaros 
in  1028,  there  was  no  one  to  stand  against  him,  and  Olaf 
did  not  dare  to  resist.  Knut  was  recognized  as  overlord, 
and  Haakon  Erikss0n  (the  last  of  the  great  jarls  of  Hlade), 
in  spite  of  his  oath  to  Olaf  in  1016,  became  governor 
under  Knut.  Then  the  conqueror  sailed  to  Borg,  and 
meeting  with  no  resistance,  thus  "  won  Norway  without 
a  sword  stroke."  While  this  was  happening  in  the  summer 
of  1028  Olaf,  with  a  few  men  and  ships,  lay  at  Drammen, 
but  Knut  did  not  apparently  think  it  politic  to  attack  him. 
When  Knut  had  left  the  country,  and  the  winter  came  on, 

C.S.N.  G 


82  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Olaf  emerged  from  his  retreat  and  sailed  round  the  coast. 
As  he  went  along,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  capture  in 
Bukken  Fjord,  the  old  chief  Erling  Skjalgss0n,  and  intended 
to  hold  him  as  a  hostage,  but  one  of  the  king's  men,  most 
unfortunately  for  Olaf,  slew  the  captured  chief.  This  act 
raised  all  that  part  in  arms  against  the  king,  and  he  sailed 
further  north,  and  had  reached  S0ndm0re  when  he  learned 
of  the  approach  of  a  superior  force  from  Nidaros.  Seeing  he 
could  neither  advance  nor  retreat,  the  king  sailed  up  the 
Slyngs  Fjord  as  far  as  Sylte,  and  there  left  his  ships,  and 
with  a  handful  of  devoted  followers  started  in  the  depth  of 
winter  over  the  mountains.  After  great  hardships  he  came 
at  last  to  Einabu,  in  the  Gudbrandsdal,  and  from  thence  to 
Hedemarken.  He  had  now  no  alternative  but  to  leave 
Norway,  and  taking  his  wife  and  two  children  with  him, 
and  his  faithful  friend  Bishop  Grimkell,  he  went  to 
his  brother-in-law  in  Sweden,  where  he  spent  the  winter. 
When  the  spring  of  1029  came,  he  left  his  family  in 
Sweden,  and  proceeded  to  his  other  brother-in-law, 
Jaroslav,  who  was  king  in  Gardarike,  and  there  remained 
for  some  time. 

Meanwhile  the  government  of  Norway  seems  to  have 
gone  on  quietly  enough  under  Haakon  Jarl,  as  Knut's 
representative.  In  the  summer  of  1029  he  went  to 
England,  where  he  was  married,  and  in  the  autumn  set 
sail  on  his  return  home  ;  but  nothing  more  was  ever  heard 
of  him  or  the  ship,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  perished  in 
a  storm.  Thus  ended  the  male  line  of  the  great  jarls  of 
Hlade,  who,  for  close  upon  a  hundred  years,  had  played 
such  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  their  country. 
The  death  of  the  jarl  under  such  peculiar  circumstances, 
was  regarded  by  many  of  the  people  as  a  judgment  of 
Heaven  upon  him,  for  the  breach  of  the  oath  which  he  had 
taken,  never  to  oppose  the  right  of  King  Olaf  to  the  throne 
of  Norway. 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.        83 

After  the  death  of  Haakon,  Einar  Thamberskj elver  was 
now  the  greatest  chief  in  the  land,  and  he  had  been 
allowed  by  Knut  to  cherish  hopes  of  being  ruler  of  the 
country  under  the  king.  When  the  loss  of  Haakon  and 
his  ship  became  known,  Einar  at  once  sailed  for  England, 
and,  to  his  intense  chagrin,  learned  that  he  was  not  to  be 
jarl  in  Norway,  for  Knut  intended  to  place  his  son  Svein 
there  as  governor. 

While  these  events  were  happening,  the  fugitive,  King 
Olaf,  remained  at  the  court  of  Jaroslav  in  Gardarike.  He 
seems  at  first  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to  abandon  all 
thought  of  returning  to  Norway,  and  to  have  contemplated 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  to  be  followed  by  retire- 
ment to  a  religious  life.  There  is  no  doubt  that  during 
the  time  he  spent  in  Kussia  the  natural  religious  bent  of 
his  mind  was  much  deepened,  and  the  enforced  period  of 
inactivity  enabled  him  to  learn  something  more  of  the  true 
spirit  of  the  faith,  for  the  outward  establishment  of  which 
he  had  been  so  zealous.  He  must  have  regretted  the  many 
acts  of  cruelty  of  which  he  had  been  guilty  towards  the 
heathen,  and  have  seen  that  there  was  a  better  way  than 
the  sword  and  mutilation,  of  advancing  the  cause  which  he 
had  so  much  at  heart.  That  a  real  change  in  him  took 
place  in  this  respect,  is  most  evident  by  his  actions  in  his 
last  campaign. 

Notwithstanding  his  wish  for  a  pilgrimage,  he  could  not 
forget  Norway :  ever  and  anon  his  thoughts  went  back  to 
his  much-loved  native  land.  In  a  dream  he  seemed  to  see 
his  great  predecessor  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  who  urged  him  not 
to  abandon  the  work  which  he  had  undertaken,  and  a 
longing  seized  him  to  return  to  it.  At  this  time  the 
tidings  came  that  Haakon  Jarl  was  lost,  and  Norway  was 
again  without  a  ruler.  In  the  spring  of  1030  he  decided 
to  make  an  effort  to  regain  his  crown.  Leaving  Gardarike, 
he  returned  to  Sweden  to  Aanund  Jacob,  who  allowed  him 

G2 


84  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

to  collect  men  for  the  purpose  of  the  invasion.  He  went 
to  Jeemtland,  in  the  northern  part  of  Sweden,  and  was 
joined  by  a  number  of  men  (some  of  them  were  outlaws), 
who  were  attracted  by  the  hope  of  plunder;  which,  however, 
was  not  realized.  Crossing  the  mountains,  he  descended 
towards  the  Vserdal,  a  wide  and  open  valley  which  goes  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  present  town  of  Levanger  towards 
the  Swedish  frontier.  On  his  way  he  was  joined  by  his 
young  half-brother  Harald,  the  son  of  Sigurd  Syr,  who 
brought  a  welcome  reinforcement  of  some  five  hundred 
men  from  Viken. 

The  last  few  weeks  of  Olaf  s  life  are  related  with  much 
minuteness  by  the  writers  of  the  Sagas,  and  are  full  of 
episodes  which  are  probably  inaccurate,  and  added  in  later 
times  to  enhance  the  glories  of  the  national  saint ;  but  there 
is  undoubtedly  in  the  romantic  story,  a  very  large  element 
of  truth  as  well,  and  which  coincides  with  what  we  know 
of  the  king's  character.  We  are  told  that  good  Bishop 
Sigurd  came  to  him  and  foretold  his  approaching  death, 
but  Olafs  purpose  was  not  to  be  shaken.  In  a  dream 
on  the  day  of  the  battle,  he  saw  a  ladder  set  up  on  earth 
and  the  top  reaching  to  heaven,  and  he  himself  just  on  the 
point  of  gaining  the  highest  rung,  when  he  was  awakened. 
He  seems  clearly  to  have  foreseen  that  the  struggle  in  which 
he  was  now  engaged  was  to  be  the  last  of  his  life. 

When  the  forces  of  the  king  had  crossed  the  mountains 
he  set  himself  to  number  his  army,  and  found  he  had  with 
him  about  3,600  men.  Further  investigation  revealed  the 
fact  that  of  these,  no  less  than  900  were  heathen.  Olaf  at 
once  made  it  clear  that  all  under  his  banner  must  be 
Christians — he  offered  them  the  alternative  of  being  baptized 
or  leaving  his  host.  "  We  will/'  said  he,  "  not  rely  on  our 
numbers,  but  place  our  trust  in  God,  who  by  His  power  and 
mercy  can  give  us  the  victory,  but  I  will  not  mix  heathen  folk 
with  my  men."  Of  the  nine  hundred,  four  hundred  were 


ST.   OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.  85 

at  once  baptized  and  confirmed,  and  the  others  left  the 
king's  force. 

Olaf  s  adherents  at  once  urged  on  him  the  importance  of 
harrying  the  country  around  them  in  the  customary  way, 
in  order  to  strike  terror  into  the  land,  but  the  king  sternly 
forbade  them.  He  pointed  out  that  where  he  had  done  this 
before,  it  was  because  they  had  resisted  the  true  faith. 
"  We  had  then,"  he  said,  "  God's  law  to  defend,  but  now 
they  have  broken  faith  with  me  and  acted  treasonably 
against  me,  and  that  deserves  much  slighter  punishment. 
.  .  .  There  is  much  greater  reason  to  show  leniency  towards 
those  who  wronged  me,  than  to  those  who  showed  their 
hatred  of  God." 

Meanwhile  the  supporters  of  Knut  had  not  been  idle. 
Tidings  of  the  projected  invasion  had  reached  Norway,  but 
it  was  not  at  first  known  from  what  point  the  attack  would 
be  made,  and  preparations  were  begun  in  the  south,  in  case 
hostilities  should  commence  in  that  direction.  When, 
however,  it  was  discovered  that  Olaf  was  approaching  from 
the  north-east,  at  once  all  the  chiefs  who  supported  Knut, 
went  with  their  men  to  Tr0ndelagen.  The  principal  leaders 
of  the  rebels  against  Olaf,  were  Thore  Hund,  Kalv  Arness0n 
and  Haarek  of  Thjotta,*  and  they  got  together  a  very  con- 
siderable body  of  men  (largely  out-numbering  the  king's 
force),  and  estimated  at  no  less  than  14,400.  It  seems, 
however,  that  this  total  must  have  been  largely  in  excess  of 
the  actual  figure. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  coming  battle  was  one 
entirely  between  Christians  and  heathen,  for  as  we  have 
already  seen,  Olaf  had  almost  altogether  expelled  heathenism 
from  the  land,  at  least  the  open  profession  of  it. 

But  those  who  opposed  the  king  were  in  the  main  the 
survivors  of  the  old  heathen  party ;  the  chiefs  hostile  to 
Olaf  had,  however,  on  their  side  an  ecclesiastic  in  the  person 
*  Einar  Thamberskjelver  prudently  held  aloof  at  this  critical  time. 


86  CHURCH   AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

of  Bishop  Sigurd,  who  had  officially  been  attached  by  Knut 
to  the  retinue  of  his  son,  as  court  bishop.  He  was  a  man 
of  most  violent  temper,  and  with  the  most  bitter  invective 
urged  on  the  b0nder  to  attack  the  king,  painting  Olaf  and 
his  men  as  monsters  of  iniquity,  and  wound  up  with  telling 
them  that  "  the  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  advance  against 
these  inhuman  monsters,  and  to  slay  them,  casting  them 
forth  for  the  eagles  and  the  wolves,  leaving  them  where 
they  have  fallen,  unless  you  drag  away  their  bodies  into 
remote  corners  of  the  woods,  and  let  no  man  dare  to  carry 
them  to  the  church,  for  they  are  all  Vikings  and  men  of 
evil  deeds." 

This  atrocious  advice  was  happily  not  carried  out  after 
the  battle,  though  at  the  time  it  was  given,  it  was  greeted 
with  applause  by  the  b0nder. 

The  rebels  now  held  a  conference  of  their  chiefs  to  select 
a  leader  to  command  their  army,  and  it  was  first  proposed 
that  Haarek  of  Thjotta  should  lead  the  host,  but  he  declined, 
and  finally  the  choice  fell  on  Kalv  Arness0n. 

The  armies  of  the  king  and  the  rebellious  b0nder  drew  near 
to  each  other,  at  a  spot  called  Stiklestad,  in  the  Vserdal,  not 
very  far  from  the  place  where  the  river,  which  flows  through 
the  valley,  enters  the  Trondhjem  Fjord.  Olaf  s  army  seems 
now  to  have  numbered  somewhat  over  3,000  men,  but  the 
forces  of  the  rebels  were  much  more  numerous.  The  king 
divided  his  men  into  three  divisions — he  himself  commanded 
the  centre,  the  Swedish  contingent  was  on  the  right,  and 
the  rest,  under  Dag  Hringss0n,  on  the  left.  The  forces  of 
the  b0nder  were  similarly  arranged — Kalv  Arness0n  and 
Thore  Hund  in  the  centre,  the  men  from  Eogaland,  Horda- 
land  and  Sogn  on  the  left,  and  those  of  Komsdal,  Namdal, 
and  Mseren  on  the  right. 

Olaf  did  not  forget  that  he  came  as  a  champion  of  the 
faith,  and  not  merely  a  king  striving  to  recover  his  temporal 
power.  He  chose  as  the  battle-cry  of  his  army,  "  Christ's 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.         87 

men!  Cross  men!  King's  men!"  ;  while  the  rebels'  cry  was, 
"Fram,  fram  (onward,  onward),  b0nder!"  In  the  early 
morning  all  Olaf  s  army  made  their  confession  and  received 
the  Communion.  It  is  said  that  the  king  at  this  time  gave 
a  sum  of  money  in  order  that,  after  the  battle,  prayers 
should  be  offered  for  the  souls  of  his  enemies  who  might  fall 
in  the  fray. 

Before  the  actual  conflict  began,  and  when  the  armies 
stood  facing  one  another,  Olaf  made  a  final  but  ineffectual 
appeal  to  the  leaders  of  the  b0nder  who  had  sworn  allegiance 
to  him,  to  return  to  their  duty.  We  are  also  told  that  he 
made  the  offer  to  his  own  men,  that  if  they  had  relations  in 
the  rebel  army  against  whom  they  desired  not  to  fight, 
they  could,  even  then,  leave  the  ranks.  No  one  accepted 
this  generous  offer,  though  one  man  on  the  king's  side  had 
two  sons  in  the  opposite  army. 

Then  the  battle  joined  and  raged  fiercely.  The  royal 
army  was,  as  we  have  seen,  greatly  out-numbered,  and  to 
add  to  their  misfortunes,  a  large  part  of  the  men  under  Dag 
Hringss0n's  command  did  not  come  into  action  until  the 
issue  was  practically  decided.  The  king  fought  with  his 
usual  courage  in  the  thickest  of  the  fray,  and  his  men  fell 
all  around  him.  In  the  ranks  of  his  foes  was  a  man  named 
Thorstein,  who  had  sworn  to  be  avenged  on  the  king  for  the 
capture  of  a  trading  vessel  which  he  had  owned.  Pressing 
forward  he  struck  Olaf  a  severe  blow  on  the  knee.  Unable 
to  stand,  the  king  leaned  against  a  rock  and  prayed  to  God 
for  help.  Then  his  foes  closed  around  him.  Kalv  Arness0n 
is  supposed  to  have  given  the  next  blow,  which  fell  upon 
the  king's  neck,  and  then  Thore  Hund  thrust  his  spear  into 
Olaf,  inflicting  a  mortal  wound  from  which  he  almost  at 
once  expired. 

When  the  king  fell,  the  battle  practically  ended.  The 
remains  of  the  king's  army  sought  refuge  in  the  woods,  whence 
they  escaped.  A  remarkable  change  seems  to  have  come 


88  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

over  the  victors.  Their  previous  intense  animosity  suddenly 
died  down,  they  refrained  even  from  plundering  the  slain, 
and  gave  them  Christian  burial. 

Thus  fell  Olaf,  king  and  martyr,  on  a  day  long  to  be 
remembered  in  his  native  land.  With  his  death  his  passing 
unpopularity  ended,  and  his  memory  was  ever  after  held  in 
grateful  remembrance  in  the  country  for  which  he  had  done 
so  much. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  exact  date  of  the  battle  is 
rather  difficult  to  determine.  The  Sagas  appear  to  be 
unanimous  that  it  was  fought  on  Wednesday,  July  29th, 
1030,  and  the  29th  of  July  was  kept  as  the  festival  of  the 
sainted  king,  from  within  a  very  short  time  of  his  death. 
But  there  is,  before  accepting  this  implicitly,  an  important 
point  to  be  considered.  The  same  authorities  which  fix 
July  29th  as  the  date  of  the  battle,  are  equally  clear  in 
stating  that  the  sun  (which  when  the  battle  began  had 
been  shining  in  a  cloudless  sky)  became  darkened,  and 
a  blackness  as  of  night,  for  a  time  prevailed.  This  of 
course  betokened  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  we  know  for  a 
certainty,  that  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  took  place  on 
Monday,  August  31st,  1030,  which  was  visible  in  Vcerdalen. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  if  the  eclipse  took  place  during 
the  battle,  the  date  of  it  must  be  August  31st,  and  not 
July  29th.  But  then  how  was  it  possible  that  an  error  of 
a  whole  month  took  place,  and  the  date  fixed  as  July  29th 
by  the  very  men  who  had  taken  part  in  the  struggle  ? 
There  seems,  however,  a  possibility  of  reconciling  these  two 
statements.  It  may  be  taken  that  the  traditional  date  of 
July  29th  is  the  correct  one,  not  August  31st,  and  for  this 
reason.  We  shall  see  later  that  the  saintship  of  Olaf  very 
rapidly  seized  hold  of  the  popular  imagination,  and  that,  for 
political  purposes,  it  was  encouraged  to  the  utmost,  by  the 
chiefs  like  Einar  Thamberskj  elver,  and  therefore  the  writers 
of  the  life  of  the  saint,  and  of  the  narrative  of  his  death  or 


ST.  OLAF,  KING  AND  MARTYR.  89 

martyrdom,  would  not  be  likely  to  omit  what  (to  a  super- 
stitious, and  only  half-Christian  people)  would  be  such  a 
manifest  sign  of  Divine  displeasure  as  an  eclipse.  They 
therefore  incorporated  into  the  narrative  of  the  battle,  the 
mysterious  darkness  of  the  total  eclipse  which  fell  over  the 
north  of  Norway,  just  a  month  after  the  king  had  been 
slain.  This  may  very  possibly  be  the  explanation,  and  it 
seems  the  only  way  by  which  the  traditional,  and  by  the 
Church  universally  accepted,  date  can  be  vindicated. 

Meanwhile  Thore  Hund  and  the  leaders  of  the  rebel 
army,  had  pursued  after  the  scattered  remnants  of  the  king's 
forces,  which  were  retreating  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the 
forests.  It  was  their  intention  on  their  return  to  secure 
the  body  of  Olaf,  and  either  to  burn  it  or  cast  it  into  the 
fjord. 

When  evening  fell,  a  bonde  of  Stiklestad  named  Thorgil 
and  his  son  Grim,  found  the  body  of  the  king  and  determined 
to  save  it  from  indignity.  They  carried  it  away  and  hid  it 
under  some  fuel  in  a  barn  ;  before  concealing  the  corpse  they 
washed  it,  and  were  struck  with  its  extraordinary  life-like 
appearance.  Having  hidden  it,  they  returned  to  their  house 
hard  by.  Meanwhile  a  blind  man,  who  was  seeking  shelter 
for  the  night,  crept  into  the  barn  and  accidentally  wet  his 
hands  with  the  water  on  the  floor,  where  the  corpse  had 
been  washed,  and  touched  his  eyes  with  his  hands.  Find- 
ing the  place  too  small  and  damp  he  came  out,  and 
discovered  that  his  sight  was  restored  to  him  again.  Going 
to  the  house  he  told  the  story,  which  filled  all  with  wonder 
as  to  what  could  be  in  the  barn.  Thorgil  and  his  son  were 
alarmed  lest  the  body  should  be  found,  and  hurriedly  took 
it  away  into  another  place. 

Thore  Hund  on  his  return  sought  everywhere  for  the 
king,  but  being  unsuccessful  left  the  place.  The  faithful 
Thorgil  and  his  son  now  resolved  that  the  king's  body 
should  be  conveyed  to  Nidaros,  but  knowing  the  danger 


90  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

which  attended  such  a  course,  they  went  to  work  warily. 
Two  coffins  were  made ;  in  one  he  placed  the  king,  and  in 
the  other  stones  and  sand  of  the  weight  of  a  man.  Then 
with  the  aid  of  friends  on  whom  they  could  rely,  they  hid 
the  coffin  containing  the  royal  body  under  the  boards  of 
the  boat,  but  placed  the  other  coffin  where  all  men  could 
see  it.  Then  they  rowed  down  the  fjord  to  Nidaros.  * 
On  reaching  the  town  Thorgil  sent  word  at  once  to 
Bishop  Sigurd,  that  he  had  brought  the  body  of  Olaf.  This 
unlovable  prelate  was  delighted  to  hear  the  news.  He  at 
once  dispatched  his  men  in  a  boat  to  meet  them,  and  when 
they  had  got  the  coffin  with  the  stones  and  sand  in  it,  they 
rowed  out  into  the  fjord  and  threw  it  overboard,  and 
returned  to  their  master  with  the  information  that  their 
errand  had  been  accomplished.  Then  Thorgil  and  his 
friends  rowed  their  boat  a  short  way  up  the  Nid,  and  in 
the  night-time  secretly  conveyed  the  coffin  with  the  body 
of  the  king  to  land,  and  hid  it  in  a  hut  on  the  river  bank. 
Here  it  remained  for  a  short  time,  but  knowing  well  it 
would  not  be  safe,  and  finding  no  one  who  would  dare  to 
take  charge  of  it,  they  dug  a  hole  in  the  sand  on  the  river 
bank,  and  in  it  they  placed  the  body.  Carefully  marking 
the  spot,  they  started  again  before  daybreak,  and  quickly 
made  their  way  back  to  Stiklestad. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

MAGNUS  THE  GOOD  AND  HARALD  HAARDRAADE— THE 
CONFLICT  WITH  THE  SEE  OF  BREMEN. 

Svein  and  JElfgifu  as  Knut's  Representatives — Discontent  in  Norway — 
King  Olaf  s  Body  Disinterred — His  Saintship  Proclaimed — Growth 
of  the  Cult — Magnus  brought  to  Norway — Independence  secured 
again — Reign  of  Magnus — His  Death — Harald  Haardraade — 
Murder  of  Einar — Foundation  of  Oslo — St.  Halvard — Conflict  with 
the  See  of  Bremen — Letter  of  Pope  Alexander  II. 

WITH  the  fall  of  Olaf  at  the  battle  of  Stiklestad,  it  seemed 
as  if  the  forces  of  disintegration  had  triumphed,  and  the 
cause  for  which  the  king  had  worked  so  laboriously  during 
the  eventful  years  of  his  reign  had  come  to  nought.  Once 
more  Norway  was  to  become  subservient  to  Denmark,  and 
both  Church  and  State  were  deprived  of  the  strong  hand 
which  had  built  up  the  one,  and  guided  the  destinies  of  the 
other.  But  it  was  not  so.  Of  Olaf  the  Saint  it  might  well 
be  said  that  "  the  dead  which  he  slew  at  his  death  were 
more  than  they  which  he  slew  in  his  life,"  and  far  from  the 
destruction  of  the  cause  for  which  his  life  was  given,  it 
gained  in  a  very  short  time  a  fresh  power  and  impetus, 
and  the  name  and  fame  of  the  royal  martyr  was  carried  far 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  northern  kingdom,  even,  it  is  said, 
to  the  capital  of  the  Eastern  Empire. 

Knut  the  Great  had  sent  his  young  son  Svein  as  Governor 
to  Norway,  in  the  place  of  the  last  jarl  of  Hlade.  As 
Svein  was  but  a  lad,  he  was  accompanied  by  his  mother, 
Alfiva  or  ^Elfgifu,  an  imperious  and  overbearing  English- 
woman, who  but  little  understood  the  independent  spirit 
which  actuated  the  Norwegian  b0nder.  They  landed  in 
Viken  about  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Stiklestad,  and  shortly 


92  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

after  arrived  at  Nidaros,  where  Svein  was  accepted  as 
king.  The  rule  which  the  young  prince  instituted,  under 
the  direction  of  his  mother  and  the  Danish  chiefs  who  ac- 
companied him,  was  at  once  very  distasteful  to  the  people, 
and  the  imposition  of  new  taxes  made  them  very  unpopular, 
If  there  was  one  thing  more  than  another  to  which  the 
Norwegians  clung,  it  was  the  laws  which  had  been  passed 
by  the  great  assemblies  at  Frosta  and  other  places,  and  the 
b0nder  found  that  if  Olaf  had  ruled  with  a  strong  arm,  he 
had,  at  any  rate,  ruled  them  under  their  own  laws  and 
customs,  and  not  according  to  Danish  law  and  usages, 
and  they  soon  began  bitterly  to  repent  of  their  rebellion 
against  him.  The  great  chiefs,  like  Einar  Thamberskj  elver, 
Kalv  Arness0n  and  others,  found  also  that  the  change  had 
done  them  no  good,  and  their  privileges  were  no  more  than, 
and  indeed  in  some  ways  not  so  great  as,  they  had  been 
under  their  native  king.  Discontent  spread  everywhere, 
but  none  of  the  chiefs  were  ready  to  risk  an  open  rebellion. 
The  man  who  seemed  the  natural  leader  was  Einar,  who, 
as  has  been  mentioned,  took  no  part  in  the  battle  of  Stik- 
lestad,  and  who,  in  his  early  days,  had  been  a  devoted 
adherent  of  the  race  of  Haarfagre. 

The  discontented  chiefs,  however,  thought  it  prudent  to 
attain  their  ends  by  religious  and  not  political  means.  The 
Danish  court  bishop  Sigurd  had  done  his  best  to  bring  the 
Norwegian  Church  into  close  connection  with  Denmark, 
and  therefore  with  the  see  of  Bremen,  and  it  was  probably 
during  the  short  time  that  he  was  at  Nidaros,  that  the 
Benedictine  Monastery  at  Nidarholm  (a  small  island  in  the 
Trondhjem  Fjord, close  to  the  town,  now  called  Munkholmen) 
was  first  established.  Sigurd,  however,  was  so  unpopular, 
that  by  the  influence  of  Einar  Thamberskj  elver,  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  Norway,  and  Bishop  Grimkell,  the  com- 
panion and  fellow-worker  with  Olaf,  was  brought  back 
again.  The  National  party,  as  we  may  term  them,  now 


MAGNUS  AND  HARALD.  93 

decided  that  the  time  had  come  to  declare  King  Olaf  to  be 
a  saint  and  martyr,  and  for  this  purpose  they  obtained 
formal  permission  from  Knut  to  re-inter  the  body  of  the 
king.  We  have  seen  how  Thorgil  of  Stiklestad  had  managed 
to  convey  it  safely  to  Nidaros,  and  had  secretly  buried  it 
in  the  sand  on  the  bank  of  the  Nid,  the  exact  place  being 
of  course,  carefully  noted. 

On  August  3rd,  1031,  the  principal  men,  including 
Bishop  Grimkell  and  Einar,  in  the  presence  of  the  young 
prince  and  his  mother  Alfiva,  had  the  body  disinterred.  On 
the  coffin  being  opened  the  body  of  Olaf  was  found  to  be 
perfectly  preserved ;  his  hair  and  nails  had  grown,  his 
colour  was  lifelike,  and  a  beautiful  odour  pervaded  the  air. 
All  these  things  were  clear  proofs  of  saintship,  and  the  on- 
lookers were  filled  'with  wonder  and  amazement.  The  only 
sceptic  was  Alfiva,  who  maintained  that  a  body  buried  in 
sand  would  not  decay.  The  bishop,  however,  offered  to 
test  the  matter  by  cutting  off  some  of  Olaf  s  hair  and  placing 
it  in  the  fire,  where,  if  it  remained  unconsumed,  there  could 
then  be  no  doubt  of  the  saintship.  This  was  done  with  con- 
secrated fire,  and,  surviving  the  test,  all  were  forced  to 
admit  that  the  late  monarch  must  indeed  be  a  saint.  Then 
the  body  was  carried  with  great  state  into  the  church  of 
St.  Clement,  which  Olaf  Trygvess0n  had  built,  and  there 
buried  before  the  altar. 

The  cult  of  St.  Olaf  then  proceeded  with  amazing  rapidity, 
helped  on  as  far  as  possible  by  Einar  and  others  for 
political  purposes,  and  the  young  king  and  his  mother  dared 
not  openly  oppose  it,  as  the  disinterment  and  reburial  after 
the  proved  sanctity,  had  been  done  with  their  formal  consent. 
The  usual  miracles  were  soon  everywhere  reported ;  the 
blind  saw,  the  lame  walked,  and  the  sick  were  healed. 

Thore  Hund,  who  had  given  the  king  his  death  blow 
in  the  battle,  was  struck  with  contrition  for  his  heinous 
offence,  and  endeavoured  to  expiate  his  crime  by  going  on  a 


94  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  from  whence  he  never  returned. 
Olaf  was  declared  to  be  a  saint  by  Bishop  Grimkell,  and  the 
verdict  of  the  Church  was  formally  ratified  by  the  law  of 
the  land.  Two  days  were  set  apart  in  St.  Olaf  s  honour — 
July  29th  as  the  day  of  the  martyrdom,  and  August  3rd 
as,  what  we  may  call,  the  Translation  of  St.  Olaf,  being  the 
day  on  which  the  body  was  disinterred  from  the  sand  and 
brought  for  burial  to  the  church  of  St.  Clement.  It  may  be 
well  to  mention  here  the  curious  number  of  changes  which 
were  made  in  a  short  period,  before  the  final  resting-place  in 
the  Dom  Kirke  was  reached.  From  St.  Clement's  it  was 
moved  to  a  church  dedicated  to  Olaf  by  his  son  Magnus, 
which  was  built  on  the  spot  where  the  body  of  the  saint  lay 
for  one  night  on  its  arrival  in  Nidaros.  In  the  next  reign, 
that  of  the  saint's  half-brother,  Harald,  it  was  moved  to  a 
church  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  built  by  that  king  on 
the  bank  of  the  Nid,  where  Olaf  had  been  buried  for  a  year. 
Then  Olaf  Kyrre  built  another  church,  known  as  Christ 
Church  (close  to  the  Maria  Kirke  of  Harald),  and  the  body 
was  taken  to  it.  Finally,  when  the  present  cathedral  was 
built,  during  the  time  of  Archbishop  Ey stein  (1157 — 87), 
both  of  the  latter  churches  were  incorporated  in  it,  and  the 
body  was  placed  in  a  magnificent  shrine  at  the  high  altar, 
a,nd  there  it  remained  until  the  time  of  the  Keformation. 
The  actual  spot  of  the  year-long  burial  is  supposed  to  be 
where  St.  Olaf  s  well  is  now  shown  in  the  cathedral  of 
Trondhjem. 

After  the  formal  acknowledgment  of  Olaf  s  claim  to  be 
regarded  as  a  saint,  things  went  on  in  about  the  same  way 
for  a  couple  of  years  ;  but  the  hatred  of  Danish  rule  deepened 
in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  all  their  love  for  the  race  of 
Harald  Haarfagre  returned  in  greater  force,  when  they  saw 
how  badly  they  had  treated  one,  who  was  not  merely  a  king 
of  his  line,  but  also  one  of  the  saints  of  God.  Still,  however, 
Einar  and  the  other  chiefs  played  a  waiting  game,  and  felt 


MAGNUS  AND   HARALD.  95 

that  the  time  had  not  come  to  make  a  move.  In  1033  a 
passing  disturbance  was  caused  by  an  adventurer  who 
claimed  to  be  a  son  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  and  who  raised  the 
standard  of  rebellion  in  the  south,  but  he  was  soon  defeated 
and  slain  in  a  battle  fought  in  S0ndhordland.  Shortly  after 
this,  a  violent  altercation  between  the  Danish  party  and 
Einar,  which  broke  out  at  a  Thing  held  at  Nidaros,  led  to 
the  departure  of  Svein  and  Alfiva  to  the  south,  as  they 
felt  it  was  unsafe  for  them  to  remain  in  Tr0ndelagen. 
Then  Einar,  who  had  rightly  gauged  the  popular  feeling, 
called  the  people  together  to  a  Thing  and  proposed  that 
Magnus,  the  young  son  of  St.  Olaf,  should  be  chosen  as  king. 
This  was  unanimously  agreed  upon,  and  Einar  and  Kalv 
Arness0n  were  deputed  to  go  to  Gardarike  to  the  Court  of 
King  Jaroslav  and  bring  back  the  young  prince  to  Norway. 
Their  mission  was  successful,  and  they  returned  through 
Sweden,  where  Olaf  s  widowed  queen  was  then  residing 
with  her  brother.  Young  Magnus  was  at  this  time  only 
eleven  years  old,  but  he  was  everywhere  received  with  open 
arms  by  the  delighted  people.  Svein  and  his  mother  first 
intended  to  resist  the  newcomer,  but  finding  that  the 
country  was  entirely  hostile  to  them,  they  took  refuge  in 
Denmark,  and  thus  in  1034  the  Danish  supremacy  was 
once  more  swept  away. 

Knut  the  Great  died  in  England  in  1035,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Harald ;  Svein  died  in  Denmark  in 
1036,  and  for  a  time  the  rule  of  Magnus  over  Norway  was 
undisputed. 

The  early  years  of  King  Magnus's  reign  passed  quietly 
under  the  wise  guidance  of  Einar  and  Kalv  Arness0n,  and 
the  abolition  of  the  harsh  laws  and  exactions  of  the 
Danish  king  made  the  people  contented.  Meanwhile 
Hardeknut  had  succeeded  his  father  Knut  as  king  of 
Denmark,  and  made  an  effort  to  regain  the  lost  power  over 
Norway.  Before  matters  went  very  far,  the  leading  men 


96  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

on  both  the  Danish  and  Norwegian  side  arranged,  after  a 
conference  held  at  the  G0tha  river,  that  whichever  of  the 
two  kings  survived,  should  have  the  two  kingdoms.  This 
dangerous  compact  might  have  made  the  subservience  of 
Norway  to  Denmark  again  an  accomplished  fact,  but  the 
death  of  Hardeknut  in  1042  changed  the  situation,  and 
Norway  and  not  Denmark  became  the  sovereign  State. 
The  political  result  of  this  was  unfortunate  for  Norway,  as 
it  meant  a  great  waste  of  blood  and  treasure,  and  though 
for  a  time  it  exalted  the  position  of  the  northern  State 
among  the  nations  of  Europe,  it  was  but  a  drawback  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  country.  When  Magnus  took  the  govern- 
ment into  his  own  hands  he  embarked  on  the  very  unwise 
course,  of  attempting  to  be  avenged  on  those  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  rebellion  against  St.  Olaf.  The  old  chief, 
Haarek  of  Thjotta  was  killed,  and  Kalv  Arness0n,  who  by 
his  zeal  for  Magnus's  succession  might  have  been  thought 
to  have  atoned  for  his  share  in  Stiklestad,  was  obliged  to 
fly  to  the  Orkneys.  But  after  a  time  Magnus  had  the 
sense  to  see  how  unwise  and  unfair  his  action  was,  and 
abandoned  his  thoughts  of  revenge.  By  his  just  and 
kindly  rule  he  became  more  beloved  by  his  people  than 
any  king  since  the  days  of  Haakon,  and  the  epithet  "  The 
Good/'  which  the  former  had  won,  was  everywhere  accorded 
to  Magnus. 

One  very  important  work  was  accomplished  in  his  time. 
He  reduced  the  laws  of  the  Frosta  Thing  to  writing. 
Formerly  it  would  seem,  that  these  laws  were  more  of  the 
nature  of  customs,  and  were  preserved  orally,  but  Magnus 
had  them  written  out,  and  his  compilation  or  code,  under 
the  curious  name  of  "  The  Grey  Goose/'  remained  in  use  in 
Tr0ndelagen  for  close  upon  200  years. 

The  Danish  sovereignty,  though  it  was  in  many  ways  a 
danger  to  Norway,  brought  the  king  much  renown,  especially 
after  his  great  defeat  of  the  Vends  in  1044,  which  effectually 


MAGNUS  AND   HARALD.  97 

stemmed  the  tide  of  Sclavonic  invasion  in  that  part  of 
Europe,  and  spread  the  fame  of  the  young  king  and  his 
sainted  father,  far  and  wide. 

The  year  that  followed  the  victory  over  the  Vends 
nearly  witnessed  another  of  the  many  dynastic  struggles 
which  had  before  rent  the  kingdom.  Harald,  the  son  of 
Sigurd  Syr,  and  the  king's  half-uncle,  had  after  the  battle 
of  Stiklestad,  gone  to  Constantinople  and  taken  service 
under  the  Eastern  Emperor,  where  he  won  a  great  reputation 
as  a  warrior.  He  returned  to  Norway,  and  demanded  half 
of  the  kingdom.  This  was  refused,  and  Harald  retired  to 
Sweden,  and  later  joined  Svein  Ulfss0n,  the  new  claimant 
for  the  Danish  Crown.  The  year  after,  however,  Magnus 
agreed  to  Harald's  demand,  but  stipulated  that  the  kingdom 
was  not  to  be  divided ;  there  were  to  be  no  more  under- 
kings  in  Norway,  but  they  were  to  reign  jointly.  How 
this  unwise  plan  would  have  worked,  there  was  no 
opportunity  of  judging,  for  Magnus  the  Good  died  suddenly 
in  1047,  and  Harald  reigned  as  sole  king.  Denmark  was 
now  separated,  and  Svein  Ulfss0n  reigned  there. 

The  short  reign  of  Magnus  was  not  remarkable  for  any 
important  ecclesiastical  events,  beyond  of  course  the  growth 
of  the  cult  of  St.  Olaf,  and  the  building  of  churches  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  In  his  reign  a  magnificent 
silver  shrine  for  the  body  of  St.  Olaf  was  made  ;  the  king 
kept  the  keys  of  this,  and  every  year  is  said  to  have  cut  the 
hair  and  nails  of  his  father.  After  Magnus's  death  Harald 
Haardraade  did  the  same  thing,  but  on  his  departure  for 
the  great  expedition  against  his  English  namesake,  he 
threw  the  keys  of  the  shrine  into  the  sea,  and  two  centuries 
then  elapsed  before  it  was  again  opened. 

The  unexpected  death  of  Magnus  the  Good  removed  the 
probability  of  disputes  between  the  kings  in  Norway,  and 
there  was  no  one  to  contest  the  claims  of  Harald.  The 
new  monarch  possessed  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the 

C.S.N.  H 


98  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

race  of  Haarfagre,  and  his  near  relationship  to  the  royal 
saint  made  him  at  first  very  popular  with  his  people.  But 
along  with  great  personal  courage  and  skill  in  war,  he  had 
a  very  strong  will,  and  was  often  guilty  of  great  cruelty 
in  the  prosecution  of  his  ends,  and  his  subjects  had  soon  to 
learn  that  he  was  no  light  and  easy  ruler  of  either  chief  or 
people.  The  name  by  which  he  was  known,  Haardraade, 
the  hard  or  stern  ruler,  was  well  deserved  by  the  king,  and 
his  power  was  felt  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 

The  political  history  of  his  reign  need  not  long  detain 
us,  though  it  was  an  exciting  time,  and  the  death  of  the  king 
at  the  hard-fought  battle  of  Stamford  bridge  is  well  known 
to  all  readers  of  English  history.  A  great  part  of  the  king's 
reign  was  taken  up  with  his  constant  warfare  against  Svein 
Ulfss0n,  king  of  Denmark.*  Harald  could  not  forget  that 
his  predecessor  Magnus  was  king  both  of  Norway  and 
Denmark,  and  although  success  often  attended  his  arms,  he 
was  finally  obliged  to  make  peace  with  Svein  in  1064. 

His  hard  rule  in  Norway  naturally  aroused  the  resent- 
ment of  the  great  chiefs,  who  had  had  an  easy  time  under 
the  mild  rule  of  Magnus.  Foremost  in  the  opposition  to 
the  king  was  the  old  chief  Einar  Thamberskj  elver,  who, 
along  with  his  son  Eindride,  was  treacherously  murdered 
by  the  king's  command  at  Nidaros.  "  Hard  bites  the  king's 
dogs,"  said  the  old  chief  as  he  fell  by  the  spears  of  Harald's 
servants.  The  death  of  Einar  removed  the  most  prominent 
figure  in  the  history  of  Norway  for  nearly  sixty  years ;  as 
a  youth  and  far-famed  archer,  he  had  fought  beside  Olaf 
Trygvess0n  in  the  battle  of  Svolder,  and  had  witnessed  all 
the  strange  vicissitudes  which  had  befallen  his  royal  race 
for  more  than  half  a  century.  One  could  have  wished  that 

*  The  fierceness  of  his  attacks  on  Denmark  is  well  described  by  Adam 
of  Bremen,  who  was,  however,  in  this  matter,  not  an  impartial  witness  : 
"  Nunquam  quietus  fuit  a  bellis,  f ulnien  septentrionis,  fatale  malum 
omnibus  Danorum  insulis." — Book  III.,  Chap.  xvi. 


MAGNUS  AND  HARALD.  99 

he  had  met  with  a  more  honourable  death  after  his  many 
services  to  his  country. 

This  murderous  act  aroused  a  deep  feeling  of  hostility 
against  King  Harald,  and  the  people  of  Tr0ndelagen  rose 
in  arms  to  avenge  the  death  of  their  beloved  chief;  but  the 
king  was  too  strong  for  them,  and  the  insurrection  was  soon 
suppressed. 

In  1066  he  joined  with  Earl  Tostig  (brother  of  Harold  of 
England)  in  his  attempt  to  regain  his  power  there,  and  with 
a  great  fleet  set  sail  for  England,  where  he  fell  in  battle 
against  Harold  at  Stamford  bridge  near  York  on  September 
25th,  1066. 

Before  we  advert  to  the  ecclesiastical  politics  of  the  reign 
of  Harald  Haardraade,  there  is  one  event  which  must  be 
mentioned,  and  which,  indeed,  had  both  political  and 
ecclesiastical  importance.  This  was  the  founding  of  the 
town  of  Oslo,  which  is  now  the  capital  of  Norway,  and 
bears  the  name  of  its  second  founder,  Christian  IV.,  who  in 
1624,  after  a  fire  at  Oslo,  built  the  new  town  close  by. 
Harald,  as  we  know,  was  closely  connected  by  birth  and 
friendship  with  that  part  of  Norway,  and  he  probably  saw 
that  the  Tr0ndelagen  district  had  an  undue  share  of 
political  importance  in  the  land.  To  counteract  this,  and 
to  balance  the  growing  power  of  Nidaros  (which  after  the 
saintship  of  Olaf  had  been  established  had  received  a  con- 
stantly increasing  number  of  pilgrims)  he  determined  to 
found  in  the  south,  a  town  which  might  rival  Nidaros. 
Furthermore,  he  provided  the  town  with  a  saint  as  well,  who 
was  afterwards  regarded  as  one  of  the  three  patrons  of  Norway, 
Halvard  of  Huseby,  who  was  his  own  and  St.  Olaf  s  first 
cousin.  It  is  a  little  difficult  to  see  where  Halvard's  claim 
to  saintship  comes  in.  He  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  bonde 
named  Vebj0rn  who  lived  at  Lier,  a  spot  but  a  few  miles  from 
the  present  town  of  Drammen.  His  father  married  Thorny, 
the  sister  of  Aasta,  wife  of  Sigurd  Syr,  and  mother,  by  her 

H2 


100  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

first  husband,  Harald  Grenske,  of  St.  Olaf,  and  by  her 
second,  Sigurd,  of  Harald  Haardraade.  Halvard  seems  to 
have  been  a  very  estimable  man  and  to  have  carried  on  a 
considerable  business  as  a  Baltic  merchant.  One  day  he 
chivalrously  rescued  a  woman  from  some  men  who  were 
attacking  her,  and  brought  her  over  the  Drammen  river. 
He  was,  however,  followed,  and  killed  along  with  the  woman 
he  had  saved  for  the  time.  His  murderers  tied  a  stone  to 
his  neck  and  threw  his  body  into  the  fjord.  It,  however, 
refused  to  sink,  and  this  circumstance,  with  the  other  usual 
signs,  proclaimed  Halvard  to  be  a  saint,  and  his  claim  was 
soon  acknowledged  by  the  Church.  When  Harald  founded 
Oslo  he  had  his  kinsman's  body  brought  thither,  and  buried 
in  a  church  which  bore  his  name,  and  Halvard  became,  to 
the  people  of  the  south  of  Norway,  a  saint  second  only  in 
rank,  to  his  royal  cousin  at  Nidaros. 

Harald  was  not  merely  a  hard  ruler  in  the  affairs  of  State, 
but  he  showed  himself  none  the  less  stark  in  ecclesiastical 
matters.  He  decided  in  his  mind  that  he  was  to  be  the  head 
of  the  Church,  as  well  as  of  the  State.  Early  in  his  reign 
the  assertion  of  this  principle  brought  him  into  conflict 
with  Bishop  Bernhard,  and  the  consequence  was,  that  the 
bishop  was  obliged  to  leave  Norway  and  go  to  Iceland, 
where  he  remained  during  the  whole  of  Harald's  reign. 

A  vastly  more  important  conflict,  however,  arose  with  the 
see  of  Bremen,  which  was  held,  during  the  greater  part  of 
Harald's  reign,  by  a  prelate  of  as  strong  and  unbending  a 
will  as  that  of  the  king  himself. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  connection  of  Norway 
with  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Bremen  (notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  it  had  received  papal  authority  over  all  the 
Scandinavian  lands)  was  not  a  very  close  one.  It  depended 
largely  on  political  considerations,  and  also  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  ecclesiastics  whom  the  two  Olafs 
brought  with  them  were  nearly  all  Englishmen,  either  by 


MAGNUS  AND  HARALD.  101 

birth  or  education,  and  looked  to  Canterbury,  and  not 
Bremen,  as  the  see  to  which  they  owed  allegiance.  The 
application  of  St.  Olaf  to  Unwan  of  Bremen,  for  help  in  his 
work,  was  made  at  a  time  when  he  could  not  expect  any 
substantial  aid  from  England.  The  early  bishops  in  Norway 
were  not  diocesan  officials,  but  were  merely  men  in  episcopal 
orders,  who  went  with  the  kings  into  a  heathen  land  to 
spread  the  faith,  and  the  priests  who  accompanied  them 
were,  until  St.  Olaf  s  day  at  any  rate,  not  as  a  rule  fixed  in 
one  place,  but  accompanied  the  king  and  the  bishops  on  their 
journeys.  These  men  were  not  likely  to  let  the  claims  of  a 
metropolitan  make  any  very  great  impression  upon  them, 
even  when  backed  by  papal  authority,  and  they  always 
retained  the  sturdy  English  dislike  to  foreign  ecclesiastical 
rule,  which  was  so  often  manifested  in  the  history  of  the 
English  Church. 

In  1043  the  see  of  Bremen  was  filled  by  the  appointment 
of  Adalbert,  who  held  it  for  a  period  of  twenty-nine  years. 
He  was  a  strong  and  worldly-minded  man,  not  specially 
renowned  for  his  sanctity,  and  with  an  ambition  equal  to 
that  of  a  Hildebrand.  He  entertained  very  lofty  projects 
for  enlarging  the  power  and  authority  of  the  see  of  Bremen, 
and,  it  is  said,  hoped  to  have  made  it  a  sort  of  patriarchate 
of  the  North.  He  found,  however,  that  he  was  not  able  to 
carry  out  all  that  his  personal  ambition  suggested,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  he  crossed  swords  with  Haardraade.*  The 
king  had  been  accustomed  to  have  his  bishops  consecrated 
in  different  places,  but  chiefly  in  England.  These  bishops 
had  no  love  for  Adalbert,  and  it  was  their  refusal  to  attend 

*  For  the  details  of  this  controversy  between  Harald  and  the  see  of 
Bremen,  we  have  only  the  testimony  of  Adam  of  Bremen  and  his 
scholiast.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  was  a  not  unnatural 
prejudice  against  the  Norwegian  Church,  which  manifests  itself  here  and 
there,  in  spite  of  the  general  reliability  of  this  famous  historian  of  the 
North.  See  the  "Gesta  Hammaburgensis  Ecclesiae  Pontificum." — Book 
III.,  Chap,  xvi.,  and  Scholiast,  69. 


102  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

which  caused  the  failure  of  an  ambitious  project  of  the 
archbishop,  for  a  great  synod  of  the  North  to  be  held  at 
Slesvig.  These  bishops  naturally  declined  to  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  the  see  of  Bremen,  and  Adalbert  was 
equally  determined  on  his  part  to  assert  it.  During  the 
constant  war  with  Denmark  in  Harald's  reign,  his  bishops 
were  consecrated  in  various  places — in  England,  in  Aqui- 
taine — by  the  Pope,  and  even  by  the  Eastern  Church  at 
Constantinople,  where  Harald  had  many  friends.  Adalbert, 
however,  watched  his  opportunities,  and  as  the  bishops 
who  were  returning  to  Norway,  had,  as  a  rule,  to  pass 
through  his  diocese,  he  caught  and  imprisoned  them  until 
they  were  ready  to  swear  obedience  to  the  see  of  Bremen. 
It  is  said  that  Asgaut,  nephew  of  Grimkell,  when  returning 
from  Eome,  was  one  who  suffered  in  this  way.  Adalbert 
did  not  hesitate  to  accuse  Harald  of  plundering  the  shrine 
of  St.  Olaf,  and  taking  the  gifts  which  were  offered  there, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  his  wars — a  charge  probably 
true ;  but  Harald  was  not  quite  as  black  as  Adam  paints 
him  in  his  Chronicle. 

Adalbert  now  decided  to  take  another  line.  He  found 
that  imprisoning  bishops  who  had  just  come  from  being 
consecrated  at  Eome,  might  possibly  entail  unpleasant  con- 
sequences later,  and  also  that  promises  of  allegiance  extorted 
by  imprisonment,  were  not  likely  to  be  much  regarded  when 
once  the  bishop  was  safe  in  the  kingdom  of  Norway.  He 
therefore  took  the  more  regular  course  of  sending  messengers 
to  Harald  with  a  formal  claim  to  exercise  the  rights  of  a 
metropolitan  over  the  Norwegian  bishops.  In  making  this 
claim  it  cannot  be  said  that  Adalbert  was  exceeding  his 
lawful  powers  ;  for  when  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Hamburg 
was  founded  in  834  (?)  for  Ansgar,  and  transferred,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  Bremen  in  849,  it  was  expressly  intended 
by  the  Kaiser  to  be  the  head  of  a  new  province,  to  include 
the  three  Scandinavian  kingdoms,  and  this  was  confirmed 


MAGNUS  AND  HARALD.  103 

by  Pope  Nicholas  I.  in  8 5 8.*  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  Norway  never  formed  any  part  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  therefore  the  Kaiser  had  no  special 
claim  upon  it,  or  authority  to  enforce  his  will  there,and  also 
that  the  christianizing  of  Norway  was  the  work  of  English, 
and  not  German,  missionaries,  except  to  a  limited  and 
uncertain  extent  in  Viken.  Adalbert,  however,  was,  from 
his  point  of  view,  quite  in  order  in  making  a  demand,  for 
which  he  could  claim  the  authority  both  of  Pope  and  Kaiser. 

The  archbishop's  ambassadors  were  the  bearers  of  a  letter 
to  the  king,  which  was  worded  in  a  manner  little  calculated  to 
conciliate  such  a  man  as  Harald  Haardraade.  In  it  Adalbert 
lectured  the  king  on  his  iniquities  in  appropriating  for  his  own 
uses  the  treasury  of  the  shrine  of  St.  Olaf,  and,  further,  with 
not  having  his  bishops  consecrated  in  Bremen,  and  thereby 
acknowledging  the  metropolitan  authority  of  that  see. 

This  letter  filled  Harald  with  fury,  and  he  sent  Adalbert's 
messengers  back  to  their  master  with  the  scornful  words : 
"  I  know  of  no  archbishop  or  ruler  in  Norway  save  myself, 
Harald,  alone." 

Having  received  this  response  to  his  demand,  Adalbert 
decided  to  invoke  the  papal  aid,  and  laid  his  case  before 
Alexander  II.  The  Pope  supported  his  metropolitan,  and 
despatched  a  letter  to  King  Harald.  In  this  he  reminded 
the  king  and  his  people  of  his  apostolic  authority.  He 
pointed  out  to  them,  that  they  in  Norway,  were  as  yet  but 
comparatively  unlearned  in  the  faith  and  in  all  matters  of 
Church  discipline,  and  ended  up  with  an  exhortation,  or 
rather  command,  that  they  should  submit  themselves  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Bremen,  and  yield  the  same  obedience  to  him 
as  they  should  show  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter.| 

*  This  again  was  confirmed  by  Pope  Victor  II.  (1055)  in  a  bull  which 
recognized  the  right  of  the  Bremen  archbishops  to  consecrate  bishops  in 
Sweden,  Denmark,  Norway,  Iceland,  and  Greenland. 

t  Adam. — Book  III.,  Chap,  xvi.,  and  Scholiast,  70. 


104  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

This  letter  is  a  notable  document  as  being  the  first  papal 
brief  sent  to  Norway.  It,  however,  met  with  no  more 
consideration  than  Harald  had  shown  to  the  messages  of 
Adalbert,  and  the  Norwegian  king  was  equally  indifferent 
to  the  threats  and  thunderings  of  Bremen  or  Rome.  While 
he  lived,  affairs  remained  in  the  same  state ;  but  this  was 
not  long,  and  his  successor,  Olaf  Kyrre,  was  ready  to  admit 
the  authority  of  Bremen  without  any  question.  Shortly 
after  his  death  the  claims  of  Bremen  were  no  longer  in 
existence,  as  Lund,  in  Skaane,  at  that  time  a  part  of  the 
kingdom  of  Denmark  (1104),  was  made  the  metropolitan 
see  of  the  North. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

OLAF  KYRRE,  TO   THE  DEATH   OF  SIGURD 
JORSALFARER. 

Olaf  the  Peaceable  and  his  Character — Development  of  the  Country — 
Viking  Expeditions  come  to  an  End — Gilds  Established — Magnus 
Baerf0tte — Lund  made  a  Metropolitan  See — Three  Kings  in  Norway 
— The  Crusade  of  Sigurd — Harald  Gille — Last  Years  of  Sigurd — 
Bishop  Magnus — Death  of  Sigurd. 

WHEN  Harald  Haardraade  fell  at  Stamford  bridge,  he 
left  behind  him  two  sons,  Magnus  and  Olaf,  and  they 
divided  between  them  the  royal  power.  Happily  for 
Norway  this  state  of  things  did  not  long  continue,  for 
Magnus  died  in  the  year  1069,  and  Olaf  became  sole  king. 
Magnus  left  one  son,  but  as  he  was  only  a  little  child,  his 
claim  was  not  then  brought  forward. 

The  reign  of  Olaf,  who  is  known  as  Olaf  Kyrre,  or  the 
Peaceable,  was  a  period  of  much  peace  and  quietness  for 
the  land,  which  was  sorely  needed  after  the  constant  warfa,re 
of  Harald' s  reign.  Olaf  was  a  man  of  a  most  gentle  and  love- 
able  disposition,  and  seems  to  have  in  every  way  deserved 
the  name  he  bore.  He  devoted  the  whole  of  his  reign  to 
improving  the  condition  of  his  people.  We  are  told  that 
his  motto  was,  "  The  freedom  and  happiness  of  my  people 
is  my  joy  and  pleasure." 

The  Church  in  Norway  found  in  Olai  Kyrre  a  true 
"  nursing  father,"  and  it  advanced  much  in  power  and 
authority  during  his  reign.  We  find  an  interesting  account 
of  the  king  in  the  Chronicles  of  Symeon  or  Simon  of  Dur- 
ham, a  Benedictine  monk,  who  died  in  1143.  He  tells 
us  of  a  monk  named  Turgot,  who  having  been  imprisoned 


106  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

in  Lincoln,  effected  his  escape,  and  concealed  himself  on 
a  Norwegian  vessel  and  reached  the  court  of  Olaf  Kyrre. 
"  He  attained "  (says  the  Chronicle)  "  to  the  acquaintance 
of  King  Olaf,  who,  as  he  was  of  a  very  religious  turn,  was 
accustomed  to  the  use  of  the  sacred  writings,  and  cultivated 
learning  amid  the  cares  of  his  kingdom.  He  was  wont  also 
to  assist  the  priest  at  the  altar,  and  when  the  latter  was 
putting  on  the  sacred  vestments  he  would  pour  water  on 
his  hands  and  devoutly  perform  other  offices  of  this  kind. 
Hearing,  therefore,  that  a  clerk  had  come  from  England 
(which  at  that  time  was  reckoned  an  important  event),  he 
took  him  as  his  master  in  learning  psalmody."  * 

The  reign  of  Olaf  Kyrre  was  a  time  during  which 
Norway  was  practically  at  peace  with  all  other  nations, 
and  therefore  there  is  but  little  to  chronicle  in  the  political 
history  of  his  reign.  It  was  not,  however,  a  time  which 
passed  by  without  leaving  its  impress  on  subsequent  events. 
To  it  we  owe  the  beginnings  of  two  very  important  cities. 
Olaf  Trygvess0n  had  founded  Nidaros,  afterwards  known 
as  Trondhjem ;  Harald  Haardraade  established  Oslo,  the 
future  Christiania;  and  now  Olaf,  his  son,  added  two 
more  towns,  which  are  well  known  at  the  present  day — 
Bergen  and  Stavanger.  The  former  was  originally  known  as 
Bj0rgvin,  and  the  site  was  well  chosen  for  purposes  of  trade, 
the  deep  watera  nd  well-sheltered  position  making  it  easy  of 
access  for  shipping.  The  town  soon  grew  to  be  a  place  of 
importance,  to  which  the  comparative  nearness  of  Evenvik 
(where  the  great  Gula  Thing,  which  legislated  for  the  south- 
west of  Norway,  met),  probably  helped  not  a  little.  Stavanger, 
lying  a  hundred  miles  further  south,  was  a  good  centre  for 

*  Symeon  of  Durham's  "  History  of  the  Kings,"  translated  by  the  Rev. 
J.  Stevenson.  Turgot  after  his  return  to  England,  was  subsequently  prior 
of  Durham  and  bishop  of  St.  Andrew's  ;  he  died  at  Durham  in  1115. 
Selden  and  others  believe  that  Turgot  was  the  real  author  of  the  history, 
which  bears  the  name  of  Symeon  of  Durham. 


OLAF  KYERE.  107 

trade,  and  was  at  that  time  the  nearest  port  to  England  and 
the  possessions  of  the  kings  of  Norway  beyond  the  seas. 

Olaf  did  all  in  his  power  to  encourage  trade  and  to  induce 
his  people  to  adopt  a  more  settled  mode  of  life  than  had 
formerly  been  their  custom  ;  and  his  reign  is  usually  fixed 
as  the  time  when  we  note  the  practical  ending  of  the  famous 
Viking  cruises,  which  for  more  than  three  hundred  years 
had  made  the  Northmen  the  terror  of  the  coasts  of  Europe. 
The  political  results  of  these  famous  expeditions  are  "  writ 
large  "  upon  the  history  of  nearly  every  country  of  modern 
Europe ;  and  it  fills  us  with  wonder  that  such  a  small 
nation  as  Norway,  even  when  aided  by  like  adventurous 
spirits  from  Denmark  and  Sweden,  should  have  been  the 
means  of  effecting  changes,  the  results  of  which  are  still 
visible  in  Europe. 

The  increase  of  trade  which  the  foundation  of  new  towns 
called  forth,  naturally  led  also  to  an  increase  of  civilization, 
and  to  a  decided  improvement  in  the  mode  of  life  of  the 
people,  who  gradually,  especially  in  the  retinues  of  the 
king  and  the  greater  chiefs,  adopted  the  customs  and  habits 
of  the  more  civilized  peoples  of  Europe,  and  the  semi- 
barbarous  life  of  the  early  days  began  to  pass  away. 

In  the  king's  own  household  changes  are  noted  from  the 
old  fashion  of  a  fireplace  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  with  a 
hole  in  the  roof  for  the  escape  of  the  smoke,  to  a  regular 
chimney  in  the  corner,  and  windows  were  placed  to  give 
light  in  the  room.  Costly  drinking-cups  of  silver  began 
also  to  replace  the  horns  and  bowls  from  which,  in  ruder 
times,  the  king  and  his  men  drank  their  beer. 

Olaf  increased  the  royal  retinue,  which  had  formerly  been 
small,  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  sixty  of  whom  were 
huskarls ;  and  we  can  also  note  the  beginning  of  a  body  of 
what  might  be  called,  high  court  officials. 

Olaf  was  a  great  builder  of  churches,  and  the  most 
important  of  these  were  Christ  Church,  in  Nidaros,  to  which 


108  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

the  body  of  St.  Olaf  was  removed,  and  which  was  afterwards 
incorporated  in  the  cathedral;  and  another  Christ  Church 
in  his  new  town  of  Bergen,  which  was  later  on,  the  cathedral, 
but  which  was  ruthlessly  destroyed  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

From  an  ecclesiastical  point  of  view,  two  very  important 
things  date  from  Olaf  Kyrre's  reign,  namely,  the  division 
of  the  country  into  dioceses — of  which  we  shall  speak 
presently — and  the  establishment  of  Gilds  among  the 
people,  the  members  of  which  were  bound  by  very 
strict  obligations  to  help  one  another;  and  the  gild 
brothers  were  expected  to  set  a  good  example  in  the 
matter  of  "  temperance,  soberness,  and  chastity." 

The  king  saw  that  it  would  be  a  wise  step  in  the 
direction  of  softening  the  manners  of  the  people  and 
promoting  social  union,  to  establish  in  the  towns  these 
associations,  which  were  known  among  the  other  branches 
of  the  Teutonic  nations.^  It  would  not  appear  that  at  first 
these  Gilds  were  especially  connected  with  any  one  trade 
or  calling,  as  was  afterwards  the  case,  but  were  open  to  all. 
They  were  held  in  buildings  called  gilder stuer,  or  gild 
rooms,  and,  though  not  directly  religious,  were  closely 
connected  with  the  Church.  A  short  office  was  often  said 
at  the  commencement  of  the  gatherings,  and  the  members 
were  expected  to  live  decent  and  sober  lives.  The  associat- 
ing together  of  people  for  purposes  partly  social  and  partly 
religious  was,  as  we  have  seen,  of  very  ancient  origin  among 
the  Norsemen,  and  the  filgirdir,  originally  heathen  gatherings, 
where  skaals  were  drunk  in  honour  of  the  gods,  were  main- 
tained under  Olaf's  Kristenret,  and  the  names  of  our  Lord 
and  the  Blessed  Virgin  substituted  for  Thor,  Odin,  &c. 
The  name  Gild  was  not  an  unknown  one  in  the  form  gild  for 
a  feast,  which,  in  heathen  days,  had  always  some  religious 
observances  connected  with  it.  Thus  it  was  at  a  gild  at 

*  See  Lujo  Brentano's  article,  on  the  "  History  and  Development  ot 
Gilds,"  in  English  Gilds  (Early  English  Text  Society),  London,  1870. 


OLAP  KYRRE.  109 

Hlade  that  Olaf  Trygvess0n  announced  to  the  astonished 
b0nder  his  intention  of  offering  six  of  their  chief  men,  as  a 
sacrifice  at  the  great  winter  blot.* 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  Olaf  Kyrre  that  the  great 
struggle  between  Pope  Gregory  VII.  and  the  Kaiser 
Henry  IV.  was  carried  on.  Norway  was  not  involved  in 
this,  though  the  metropolitan,  Archbishop  Liemar  of 
Bremen,  was  the  warm  and  faithful  friend  of  the  latter ; 
but  Olaf  remained  neutral.  The  Pope  was  naturally 
anxious  to  have  as  many  as  possible  of  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe  on  his  side  during  the  conflict.  He  wrote  in  1078 
to  the  king  in  very  friendly  terms,  expressing  the  great 
interest  he  felt  in  the  Church  there.  But  recognizing  the 
difficulties  attendant  on  sending  him  teachers,  who  were 
not  conversant  with  the  language  of  the  country,  he 
suggested  that  the  king  should  send  a  number  of  young 
men  to  Koine,  to  be  trained  up  in  Canon  law  and  Eoman 
usages,  who,  on  their  return,  might  instruct  the  people.  It 
is  difficult  to  say  if  this  idea  was  ever  carried  out,  though  we 
know  that,  after  Breakspeare's  mission,  the  intercourse  with 
Eome  was,  considering  the  great  distance,  very  frequent. 

Olaf  died  at  Haukby,  in  Eanrike,  in  1093.  His  body 
was  conveyed  to  Nidaros,  where  it  was  interred  in  the 
church  which  he  had  built,  and  where  his  sainted  predecessor 
then  reposed. 

The  short  reign  of  Olaf  s  son  and  successor,  Magnus,  who 
at  the  age  of  twenty  years  became  king,  need  not  detain 
us  long.  At  his  father's  death  he  had  to  share  the  kingdom 
with  his  cousin  Haakon  the  son  of  Magnus,  his  father's 
brother.  As  usual,  it  seemed  likely  that  a  conflict  would 
arise  between  the  two,  especially  as  Haakon  was  much  loved 
by  the  people  and  Magnus  was  unpopular;  but  Haakon 
only  lived  for  two  years,  and  died  in  1095  without  leaving 
any  son,  and  Magnus  was  therefore  the  sole  king.  Most  of 

*  See  p.  50. 


110  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

his  short  reign  was  spent  in  warlike  expeditions,  and  the 
cost  of  these  provoked  much  discontent  among  the  b0nder, 
who,  during  the  peaceful  time  of  Olaf  Kyrre's  reign,  had 
escaped  contributions  for  such  purposes.  Magnus  was  known 
among  his  people  as  the  "  fighting  Magnus,"  but  the  surname 
which  has  been  given  to  him  in  history  is  that  of  Barfot,  or 
Baerf0tte,  from  the  fact  that  he  was  so  pleased  with  the 
freedom  which  the  Scottish  kilt  afforded  to  the  Gaelic 
warriors,  that  he  and  his  men  adopted  it ;  and  so  he  was 
nicknamed  Barelegs,  or  Baerf0tte. 

His  battles  in  Scotland  belong  to  the  history  of  that 
country,  and  the  king  finally  met  his  death  in  conflict  with 
one  of  the  Irish  chiefs  in  Ulster  in  1103. 

The  same  year  in  which  the  King  was  slain,  saw  the 
erection  of  the  see  of  Lund,  in  Skaane,  to  metropolitan 
dignity,  and  therefore  the  close  of  the  long  controversy 
with  Bremen ;  and  from  that  time  for  nearly  fifty  years 
(until  the  first  archbishop  of  Nidaros),  the  Primates  of 
Lund  were  the  metropolitans  of  Norway. 

The  death  of  Magnus,  and  the  operation  of  the  unwise  law 
of  succession,  saw  now  not  merely  two,  but  three  persons 
entitled  to  the  royal  dignity.  The  late  king  left  three  sons, 
Eystein,  Sigurd,  and  Olaf,  who  were  at  his  death  of  the  ages 
of  fourteen,  thirteen,  and  four  years  respectively.  The  two 
elder,  being  of  legal  age  to  rule,  became  joint  kings,  and 
acted  as  guardians  of  their  young  brother,  who,  however, 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  leaving  no  issue. 

The  first  few  years  of  the  joint  reign  of  the  two  lads 
Eystein  and  Sigurd  were  peaceful  and  orderly  times. 
Eystein  inherited  the  disposition  of  his  grandfather  Olaf, 
while  Sigurd  desired  to  emulate  the  warlike  deeds  of  his 
father.  When  he  reached  the  age  of  seventeen  his  oppor- 
tunity came.  It  was  the  time  which  succeeded  the  first 
Crusade,  and  the  religious  fervour  of  these  extraordinary 
enterprises  quickly  reached  Norway.  The  old  Viking 


SIGURD  JORSALFARER.  Ill 

expeditions  had  been  abandoned,  but  now  an  opportunity 
presented  itself  of  warfare  of  the  same  kind,  only  it  was 
directed  against  the  enemies  of  God  and  the  Holy  Church, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  the  holy  places  from  the 
grasp  of  the  infidels.  King  Ey stein  elected  to  remain 
behind,  and  Sigurd  joyfully  equipped  a  great  fleet  and 
army,  with  which  to  proceed  to  the  Holy  Land.  Both  kings 
shared  the  cost,  and  the  people,  without  any  compulsion, 
eagerly  offered  themselves  for  service.  In  sixty  ships,  and 
with  about  10,000  men,  Sigurd  left  Norway  in  1107. 

As  it  was  late  in  the  season  when  they  sailed,  the  winter 
was,  by  permission  of  Henry  I.,  spent  in  England.  "  After 
expending  vast  sums  upon  the  churches,  as  soon  as  the 
western  breeze  opened  the  gates  of  spring  to  soothe  the 
ocean  he  regained  his  vessels,"  *  and  set  sail  in  the  early 
part  of  1108.  Proceeding  slowly  along  the  coast  of  France, 
the  winter  of  1109  was  spent  in  Galicia.  As  they  passed 
through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  they  had  an  opportunity  of 
slaying  the  infidels,  as  they  encountered  and  defeated  a 
large  Moorish  fleet.  Thence  they  made  for  the  Balearic 
Isles  and  Sicily,  where  a  considerable  time  was  spent,  and 
in  the  summer  of  1110  they  came  at  last  to  Palestine, 
where  Sigurd  was  received  at  Jerusalem  with  great  honour 
by  King  Baldwin  and  the  Patriarch. 

Sigurd  then  visited  many  sacred  spots,  and  the  Holy 
City,  and  received  a  portion  of  the  true  Cross,  which 
he  duly  carried  back  to  Norway.  After  leaving  Jeru- 
salem, he  assisted  Baldwin  in  the  attack  on  Sidon,  which 
was  captured,  a  result  largely  due  to  the  Norwegian 
fleet.  Snorre  tells  us  that  during  his  visit  to  Jerusalem 
Sigurd  vowed  to  introduce  into  Norway  the  payment  of 
tithes,  which  promise  he  did  not  forget  on  his  return  home. 

From  Sidon,  Sigurd  sailed  for  Myklegaard  (Constanti- 
nople), where  he  was  welcomed  by  the  Emperor  Alexius  L, 
*  William  of  Malmesbury. — Book  V. 


112  CHUECH   AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

and  received  many  splendid  gifts,  and  in  return  presented 
"  a  ship  beaked  with  golden  dragons  "  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Sophia.^  Leaving  the  whole  of  his  fleet  at  Constantinople, 
he  travelled  overland  to  Denmark,  via  Hungary  and 
Bavaria,  and  reached  home  in  1111,  crowned  with  glory 
from  his  successful  expedition.  From  his  having  under- 
taken this  crusade,  he  was  henceforth  known  as  Sigurd 
"  Jorsalfarer,"  the  traveller  to  Jerusalem. 

This  participation  in  the  Crusades  produced  results  in 
Norway  similar  to  those  in  England,  and  other  countries  of 
the  north  of  Europe.  It  brought  a  large  number  of  the 
people  into  direct  communication,  with  the  civilization  and 
luxury  of  the  south  of  Europe,  and  the  products  of  "  the 
gorgeous  East,"  and  was  therefore  of  educational  value  to  a 
people  who  had  seldom,  if  at  all,  come  in  contact  with  the 
more  polished  Latin  races.  We  can  well  understand  with 
what  wonder  the  men  who  had  only  been  accustomed  to 
rough  wooden  churches,  or  very  bare  and  simple  stone 
ones,  such  as  we  now  find  at  Moster  or  on  Kinn,  must 
have  gazed  on  the  stupendous  pile  of  St.  Sophia,  or  the 
wealth  of  gilding  and  colour  of  many  buildings  which 
they  met  with  during  the  Crusades.  It  seems  not  at  all 
improbable  that  they  brought  back  from  their  stay  in  the 
East,  many  ideas  which  were  afterwards  put  into  practice 
in  their  own  land.  Witness,  for  example,  the  klokketaarn, 
which  we  find  built  alongside  some  of  the  stavkirker  of 
Norway,  such  as  Ringebu,  in  Gudbrandsdal,  and  Borgund, 
in  Lserdal,  and  there  we  will  find  the  way  in  which  the 
Norwegians  reproduced  the  Campanile,  f 

*  Snorre  says  it  was  to  St.  Peter's. 

f  It  seems  likely,  also,  that  the  curious  laxetrapper  (ladders  or  stages) 
erected  along  the  shore  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  salmon  nets, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  Norway,  were  brought  from  the  shores  of 
Greece,  where  similar  structures  for  watching  the  movements  of  the  fish 
have  been  in  use  since  classical  times.  It  would  seem  that  these  are 
only  found  in  Norway  and  the  Mediterranean. 


From  a  Photograph  by]  [T.  Olaf  Willson. 

HEAD    OF    KING    EYSTEIN   (1103-1123). 

The  founder  of  the  Monastery  of  Munkeliv,  in  Bergen. 

This  carving,  inscribed  "  Eystein  Rex,"  is  contemporary  with 

the  erection  of  the  Cloister,  1107—1111,  and  is  now  in  the 

Bergen  Museum. 


[To  face  p.  112. 


SIGURD  JORSALFARER.  113 

During  the  long  absence  of  Sigurd,  his  brother  Ey stein 
had  devoted  himself  to  the  development  of  his  kingdom, 
and  had  ruled  wisely  and  well.  He  did  much  to  improve 
the  greatest  source  of  the  wealth  of  Norway — the  fisheries — 
and  also  looked  closely  after  the  inland  parts  of  the  country 
as  well.  The  roads  were  improved,  and  in  places  where  no 
regular  road  existed,  but  only  an  accustomed  track,  he 
caused  varder  or  cairns  to  be  erected  to  indicate  the  way. 
On  one  of  the  land  routes  to  Nidaros,  frequented  •  by 
pilgrims  to  the  shrine  of  St.  01  af,  that  over  the  bare  and 
inhospitable  Dovre  Fjeld,  he  erected  fjeldstuer,  or  houses 
of  refuge;  and  travellers  in  our  own  day  have  often 
had  cause  to  thank  good  King  Eystein  for  the  shelter 
which  Hjaerkin,  Fogstuen,  or  Drivstuen  afforded  them 
as  they  cross  the  Dovre. *  The  stay-at-home  king  also 
enlarged  the  borders  of  the  kingdom  by  including 
within  them  the  district  of  Jaemtland,  now  incorporated 
in  Sweden. 

The  applause  which  Sigurd  had  everywhere  won  by 
his  famous  crusade,  made  him  inclined  to  be  not  a  little 
vain  and  boastful  on  his  return  home,  and  several  times 
it  seemed  as  if  a  breach  must  ensue  in  the  relations 
between  the  two  royal  brothers ;  but  prudent  counsels 
prevailed,  and  the  death  of  Eystein  in  1123,  without 
any  male  issue,  left  Sigurd  in  undisturbed  possession  of 
the  kingdom. 

In  1123,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Danish  King 
Nicholas,  he  went  on  a  crusade  against  the  inhabitants 
of  Smaaland,  in  Sweden,  who  were  at  that  time  still 
heathen,  but  of  the  details  of  this  expedition  we  know 
little  or  nothing. 

*  Eystein  was  the  founder  of  the  great  monastery  of  Munkeliv,  in 
Bergen,  dedicated  to  St.  Michael,  the  archangel,  and  for  centuries  in  the 
possession  of  the  Benedictines,  but  in  later  days  transferred  to  the 
Birgitta  order. 

C.S.N.  I 


114  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

In  1126  a  claimant  to  the  throne  appeared  in  a  very 
unexpected  way.  A  man  named  Halkel  Huk,  of  Blindheim, 
in  S0ndm0re,  met,  in  the  western  isles  of  Scotland,  an 
Irishman  calling  himself  Harald  Gille-Krist,*  who  professed 
to  be  a  son  of  Magnus  Barfot,  the  king's  father.  Though 
admittedly  an  illegitimate  son,  he  would,  nevertheless,  by 
the  Norwegian  law,  be  entitled  to  a  share  of  his  father's 
kingdom.  He,  accompanied  by  his  mother,  went  to 
Norway  to  King  Sigurd  and  repeated  his  story,  and 
offered  to  prove  his  claim  by  trial  by  ordeal.  To  this 
Sigurd  agreed,  on  the  understanding  that,  if  successful, 
Harald  was  to  make  no  claim  to  the  kingdom  during  his 
life,  or  that  of  his  son  Magnus.  On  these  conditions 
Harald  Gille  submitted  to  the  ordeal  of  walking  barefoot 
over  hot  irons,  and  having  accomplished  this  successfully, 
was  recognized  as  the  king's  brother.  This  strange  pro- 
ceeding was  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  law.  It  was 
the  first  instance  in  which  trial  by  ordeal  was  employed  to 
determine  such  an  important  question,  but,  unhappily  for 
Norway,  it  was  not  the  last. 

The  concluding  years  of  the  reign  of  Sigurd  the  Crusader 
were  sad  and  inglorious,  and  only  redeemed  by  the  brave 
stand  made  in  the  cause  of  morality  by  the  bishop  of 
Bergen.  The  king  was  much  struck  with  the  beauty  of  a 
woman  named  Cecilia,  the  daughter  of  one  of  his  chiefs, 
and  in  order  to  marry  her,  he  determined  to  put  away  his 
wife,  Malmfrid,  a  Eussian  princess.  This  he  intended  to 
do  during  a  stay  in  Bergen,  where  he  proposed  to  celebrate 
this  scandalous  marriage.  But  he  reckoned  without  his 
host.  To  the  honour  of  Magnus,  bishop  of  Bergen,  such 
an  act  was  not  to  pass  unnoticed.  When  he  learned  the 
king's  purpose  the  bishop  at  once  went  boldly  to  him 
and  demanded  an  interview.  The  king  came  to  him 

*  He  is  also  known  as  Harald  Gille.  Gille-Krist  is  the  gille,  or 
servant,  of  Christ. 


SIGURD  JORSALFARER.  115 

with  his  sword  in  his  hand,  and  invited  the  bishop  to 
join  in  the  feast  which  was  then  in  progress.  But  the 
bishop,  in  the  true  spirit  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  declined 
to  do  so. 

"  I  come  on  a  different  errand,"  said  the  fearless  prelate. 
"  Is  it  true,  0  King,  that  you  intend  to  put  away  your 
queen  and  marry  another  1 " 

Sigurd  reluctantly  admitted  that  it  was  so.  Then,  with 
stern  countenance,  the  bishop  demanded  how  the  king 
dared  to  transgress  the  commandments  of  God  and  the 
holy  Church,  and  degrade  his  royal  office. 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  and  the  holy  King  Olaf,  and  the 
Apostle  Peter,  and  all  the  saints,  I  forbid  this  crime." 

The  dauntless  bishop  stood  with  bent  head,  expecting 
every  moment  to  be  his  last ;  but  the  king  merely  glared 
at  him  and  said  nothing,  and  the  bishop  went  his  way 
rejoicing  in  having  done  his  duty. 

The  protest  of  Magnus  was  for  the  time  effectual,  and 
Sigurd  left  Bergen,  without  having  accomplished  his  pur- 
pose, and  proceeded  to  Stavanger.  There,  alas !  he  found 
a  bishop  of  less  scrupulous  conscience  than  Magnus  of 
Bergen. 

The  first  bishop  of  Stavanger  was  Keinald,  who  was  an 
Englishman  from  Winchester ;  he  was  a  capable  man,  but 
grasping  and  avaricious,  and  in  him  King  Sigurd  found  a 
tool  to  work  his  evil  purpose.  By  means  of  large  gifts  the 
king  induced  the  bishop  to  agree  to  his  wishes,  and  Sigurd 
was  married  to  Cecilia.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  a  bishop 
could  be  found  in  Norway  to  consent  to  such  a  crime,  but 
he  did  not  long  enjoy  his  ill-gotten  gains,  and  a  shameful 
death  befell  him  under  Sigurd's  successor. 

The  closing  days  of  the  far-famed  "  Jorsalfarer "  were 
rendered  still  more  sad  by  the  attacks  of  insanity  to  which 
he  seems  to  have  been  subject,  and  in  his  lucid  intervals 
he  was  filled  with  gloomy  anticipations  as  to  the  future  of 

i  2 


116  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

his  native  land.  In  1130  he  died  at  Oslo,  at  the  compara- 
tively early  age  of  forty  years.  He  left  behind  him  an 
only  son,  Magnus.  He  was  illegitimate;  but  this  was  no 
bar  to  his  succession  to  the  throne,  and  Harald,  the  king's 
"  acceptecl-by-ordeal "  brother,  was  in  the  same  case. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES,  AND 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  MONASTIC  ORDERS. 

The  Early  Missionary  Bishops — No  Diocesan  Episcopacy  at  First — Its 
Establishment  at  the  Four  Centres — The  Cathedral  Churches — 
Parochial  Organization— Patronage — The  Churches  of  the  Fylker 
and  Herred—Htgmdes  Churches— Ecclesiastical  Incomes — Duties 
of  the  Clergy,  &c. — Adam  of  Bremen's  Testimony  as  to  the  State  of 
Religion  in  Norway — Tithe  and  its  Apportionment— The  Coming 
of  the  Monastic  Orders. 

THE  death  of  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer  seems  a  suitable  point 
at  which  to  review  the  condition  of  the  Norwegian  Church 
during  the  century  which  had  elapsed  since  the  martyr 
king  fell  at  Stiklestad.  For  Olaf  the  Saint,  by  his  ecclesias- 
tical legislation,  left  his  impress  on  the  Church  for  a  long 
period,  and  at  this  time  we  are  enabled  to  estimate  it  better 
than  fifty  years  later,  when  the  result  of  the  mission  of 
Cardinal  Nicholas  Breakspeare,  and  the  firm  establishment  of 
the  monastic  orders,  led  to  changes  in  several  respects,  and 
Norway  fell  into  line  with  the  other  Churches  of  Europe 
which  owned  allegiance  to  the  Roman  see. 

The  earlier  chapters  have  shown  to  us  the  thorough  and 
systematic  manner  in  which  St.  Olaf  carried  out  his  work, 
and  the  way  in  which  he  saw  that,  if  heathenism  was  to  be 
eradicated,  it  was  necessary  that  the  people  should  receive 
systematic  instruction  in  the  faith  from  resident  priests, 
and  that  they  should  be  in  their  turn,  superintended  by  the 
bishops  whom  he,  in  the  first  instance,  brought  with  him 
from  England. 

Although  the  methods  of  St.  Olaf  would  not  always  com- 
mend themselves  to  us,  there  can  be  no  manner  of  doubt 


118  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

that  the  results  which  followed  were  very  wonderful,  and 
showed  the  extraordinary  power  of  Christianity  in  trans- 
forming a  rude,  fierce  nation  of  heathen  into  Christian 
men  and  women,  whose  lives  were,  in  many  respects,  a 
pattern  and  example  to  those  whose  Christian  ancestry 
exceeded  by  centuries  that  of  the  Norwegians. 

It  will  be  well  for  us  to  consider  the  condition  of  the 
Church  in  Norway  at  the  end  of  the  first  century  of  its 
existence  under  two  heads — (1)  The  external  organization 
of  the  Church  ;  and  (2)  the  manner  in  which  Christianity 
affected  the  life  of  the  people.* 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  from  the  period  of  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  Norway,  down  to  the  time 
of  King  Olaf  Kyrre,  there  was  no  diocesan  organization  in 
the  land.  All  the  early  bishops,  the  Sigurds  and  the 
Grimkells,  were  merely  what  we  would  call  missionary 
bishops.  They  were  consecrated  in  England  and  elsewhere 
to  carry  out  the  work  of  christianizing  the  North,  and  they 
followed  the  king  in  his  journeys  throughout  the  land, 
consecrating  churches  as  they  were  built  or  adapted  from 
the  old  temples,  and  along  with  their  priests  helping  to 
baptize  the  multitudes  who  were  so  often  obliged  by  force 
to  receive  the  ordinance.  Then,  when  heathenism  was 
expelled,  they  had  to  confirm  the  people,  and  to  ordain  the 
natives,  who  had  been  prepared  for  holy  orders  by  the  priests 
who  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  various  churches,  and  to 
perform  the  duties  which  appertained  to  the  episcopal 
office.  Gradually,  however,  when  things  had  settled  down, 
it  became  necessary  that  the  bishops  should  have  assigned 

*  Most  of  the  details  of  ecclesiastical  legislation  referring  to  this 
early  period  will  be  found  in  the  laws  of  the  Gula,  Frosta,  Borgar, 
and  Eidsiva  Things  ;  chiefly  in  Vol.  I.  of  the  Norges  Gamle  Love. 
The  reader  is  also  referred  to  the  very  fall  details  given  by  Keyser  in 
Vol.  I.,  Chap,  xx.,  of  his  Kirkes  Historie,  and  to  Chap.  iii.  of  Bishop 
Bang's  Udsigt  over  den  Norske  Kirkes  Historie,  &c. 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    119 

to  them  fixed  parts  of  the  country — in  other  words,  to 
establish  diocesan  episcopacy.  The  political  condition  of 
the  country  helped  to  facilitate  this.  We  have  noted  that 
for  legislative  purposes,  there  were  three  centres  where 
Things  were  held  and  the  laws  promulgated.  These  were 
Frosta  (for  Tr0ndelagen),  close  to  the  city  of  Nidaros ;  the 
district  under  the  Gula  Thing,  held  at  Evenvik,  a  little  to 
the  south  of  the  Sogne  Fjord,  and  not  far  from  the  newly- 
founded  town  of  Bergen  ;  and  Eidsiva,  or  Eidsvold,  a  little 
to  the  north  of  Harald  Haardraade's  town  of  Oslo. 

These  local  Things  came  gradually  to  consider  themselves 
as  entitled  to  a  bishop  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood, 
and  as  it  was  a  part  of  the  episcopal  duties  to  preach 
before  the  Thing,  the  towns  of  Nidaros,  Bergen,  and  Oslo 
were  naturally  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  bishop,  and  the 
part  of  the  country  which  met  at  the  Frosta,  Gula,  and 
Eidsiva  Things  to  form  his  diocese.  But  there  was 
another  and  a  very  strong  reason  for  the  selection  of  those 
towns  as  the  residence  of  the  bishop.  Norway,  in  the  early 
days  of  its  Christianity,  was  not  rich  in  native  saints,  but  the 
three  towns  were  each  closely  identified  with  a  national  saint. 

Nidaros  ranked  first  of  all  as  the  guardian  of  the  body 
of  the  royal  saint  of  Norway,  whose  cult  was  now  spreading 
rapidly  over  the  North ;  then  Oslo,  where  the  shrine  of  St. 
Olaf s  cousin,  the  sainted  Halvard,  had  been  placed  by 
Harald  Haardraade ;  and  lastly,  Bergen,  to  which  the  relics 
of  St.  Sunniva  were  brought  by  Bishop  Paul  in  1170.  For 
about  one  hundred  years  before  Bergen  became  a  cathedral 
city,  it  was  the  little  island  of  Selje,  which  lay  to  the  north 
of  the  Nordfjord,  which  was  the  seat  of  the  bishop,  and 
the  ecclesiastical  centre  of  the  Gula  Thing  district.  It 
was  felt,  however,  after  the  founding  of  Bergen  that  that 
town  was  much  better  adapted  for  the  residence  of  the 
bishop,  than  the  small  island  of  Selje,  lying  as  it  did  off  a 
part  of  the  coast  particularly  exposed  to  the  force  of  the 


120  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

northern  ocean,  and  close  to  the  always  dreaded  passage 
round  the  peninsula  of  Stadt. 

The  three  original  dioceses  of  Norway  were  therefore, 
for  political  and  religious  reasons,  formed  from  the  districts 
attached  to  the  principal  Tilings,  and  hallowed  by  associa- 
tions connected  with  the  three  patron  saints  of  Norway, 
St.  Olaf,  St.  Sunniva,  and  St.  Halvard.*  The  dioceses  of 
Stavanger  and  Hamar  were  of  later  foundation ;  the  former 
town  owed  its  origin  to  Olaf  Kyrre,  but  it  was  not  made 
the  seat  of  a  bishop  until  the  reign  of  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer. 
The  erection  of  the  Hamar  bishopric  was  the  result  of  the 
mission  of  Cardinal  Nicholas  in  1152.  From  the  fourteenth 
century  onwards  Hamar,  instead  of  Eidsiva,  was  the  place 
where  the  meetings  of  the  Thing  were  held. 

The  cathedral  churches  of  the  thr^e_original  sees,  and,  later, 
of  Stavanger,  seem  all  to  have  been  dedicated  to  the  Holy 
Trinity,  but  in  two  instances  called  Christ  Church,  j^  Bang 
says,  as  an  explanation  of  this,  "  when  these  Trinity 
churches  are  more  often  called  Christ  Church,  it  is  because 
Christ  was,  to  the  mind  of  the  people  at  that  time,  the  most 
prominent  of  the  three  Persons  of  the  Godhead."  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  said  that  this  form  of  dedication  is  a  trace 
of  the  English  influence,  and  the  example  is  quoted  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Canterbury,  usually  called  Christ  Church,  but 
called  in  Domesday  Book  Ecclesia  Sanctce  Trinitatis.  \ 

*  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  Norway  and  Ireland,  which  were 
so  closely  connected  in  those  days,  had  each  three  patron  saints ;  for 
the  latter,  the  insula  sanctorum,  had  St.  Patrick,  St.  Bridget,  and  St. 
Columba  as  its  patrons.  Further,  it  may  be  noted  that  both  countries 
had  as  patrons,  two  men  and  one  woman. 

f  Udsigt  over  den  Nor  she  Kirkes  Historie,  p.  57. 

J  Taranger's  Den  Angelsaksiske  Kirkes  Inflydelse,  &c.,  p.  220.  This 
writer  quotes  also  the  instance  of  Christ  Church  Cathedral,  Dublin, 
which  is  really  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity.  It  is  interesting, 
however,  to  note  that  it  was  founded  by  the  Northmen,  and  was  not 
the  cathedral  of  the  Keltic  Church. 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    121 

The  Christ  Church  in  Nidaros  was  the  original  cathedral, 
afterwards  incorporated  in  Eystein's  great  Dom  Kirke.  This 
church,  we  know,  was  built  by  Olaf  Kyrre  over  the  spot 
where  St.  Olaf 's  body  had  been  buried  for  a  year  in  the 
sand  beside  the  river  Nid.  The  great  Christ  Church  in 
Bergen  (there  was  the  little  Christ  Church  as  well)  was  the 
work  of  the  same  monarch.  The  Cathedral  of  Oslo  was 
known  as  Halvard's  Kirke,  from  the  fact  that  the  relics  of 
the  saint  were  there  deposited,  and,  though  probable,  it  is 
not  certain  that  its  original  dedication  was  to  the  Holy 
Trinity.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Stavanger  Cathedral, 
commonly  known  as  St.  Swithin's  Church.  It  was  probably 
so  named  by  its  first  bishop,  Reinald  (who  was  a  Benedictine 
monk  from  Winchester)  in  honour  of  the  famous  saint.* 

Such  seems  to  have  been  the  diocesan  organization  of 
Norway,  which  only  became  fixed  about  the  close  of  the 
eleventh  century.  What  we  might  call  the  parochial 
organization  was  more  ancient,  and  was  practically  an 
adaptation  of  the  system  of  heathen  temples.  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  temples  were  of  two  kinds,  the  fylke 
hov  and  the  herreds  hov,  and  in  the  latter  division 
there  were  also  private  temples  belonging  to  the  wealthier 
b0nder. 

This  arrangement  remained  practically  unchanged  on  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  and  so  from  the  earliest  times 
we  meet  with  three  classes  of  churches — the  church  of  the 
jylke,  of  the  lierred,  and  what  were  called  h0gendes 
kirker ;  the  last  named  might  most  correctly  be  rendered 
chapels-of-ease.  It  would  appear  that  at  the  very  beginning 
the  most  that  the  missionary  kings  could  do,  was  to  convert 
the  fylke  hov  into  a  Christian  Church,  and  make  it  a 
centre  for  the  evangelization  of  the  district.  These  fylker 
were  many  of  them  of  very  great  extent,  but,  roughly 

*  The  observance  of  St.  Swithin's  Eve  can  still  be  traced  in  West 
Norway. 


122  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

speaking,  they  were  the  original  parishes  of  Norway.  The 
fylke  churches  were  usually  built  on  the  site  of  the  heathen 
temples,  or  the  actual  buildings  were  purified  and  made  to 
serve  for  Christian  worship.  Gradually,  however,  when 
Christianity  spread  more  widely  through  the  land,  it  was 
found  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  owing  to  the  great  distances, 
for  the  people  to  attend  at  the  fylke  church,  and  so  the 
second  kind  of  heathen  temples  were  made  into  Christian 
churches.  The  herreds  into  which  the  fylker  were  divided 
offered  a  solution  of  the  difficulty,  and  herreds  Jcirker  began 
to  spring  up  over  the  country.  These  smaller  parishes 
were  practically  independent  of  the  fylke  church,  though 
at  first  certain  rights  were  reserved  for  the  church  of  the 
fylke  with  respect  to  baptisms  and  burials ;  and  its  priest 
occupied  the  position  of  the  rector  of  a  very  large  parish, 
containing  many  churches,  ministered  to  by  priests  having 
practically  sole  charge  of  them.  Then  by  degrees  these 
herreds  churches  became  entirely  independent  of  the  fylke 
church.^  The  h0gendes  kirker  were,  as  the  name  implies, 
chapels-of-ease,  and  were  practically  private  chapels,  erected 
by  chiefs  and  others  for  their  own  convenience ;  there  were 
a  considerable  number  of  these  scattered  throughout  the 
country.  These  chapels  had  not,  as  a  rule,  any  burying 
ground  attached  to  them. 

We  are  thus  enabled  to  see  what  was  the  organization  of 
the  Church  in  the  times  which  followed  the  introduction  of 
Christianity.  We  now  come  to  the  question  of  patronage, 
around  which  in  later  times  so  much  controversy  raged.  In 
the  early  days  the  matter  was  much  more  simple.  The  kings 
were  the  embodiment  of  power,  not  merely  in  the  State,  but 
in  the  Church  as  well ;  and  Harald  Haardraade's  boast  was 
not  far  from  the  truth  when  in  answer  to  Adalbert's  envoys 

*  In  some  parts  of  the  country  slightly  different  arrangements  pre- 
vailed— e.g.,  in  Tr0ndelagen,  where  the  fylker  were  not  so  large,  there 
were  sometimes  two  fylke  churches,  and  that  sufficed  for  the  district. 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    123 

he  exclaimed,  "  I  know  not  who  is  archbishop  or  ruler  in 
Norway  except  I  alone." 

The  earliest  bishops  were  the  friends,  counsellors,  and 
court  chaplains  of  the  kings,  who  ordered  the  clergy  from 
place  to  place  as  seemed  best  to  them.  We  therefore  find 
that  the  appointment  to  the  bishoprics  was  the  preroga- 
tive of  the  kings,  and  jealously  guarded  by  them.  Sub- 
sequent history  will  show  us  how  tenaciously  they  held  to 
that  right,  and  how  unwillingly  and  grudgingly  they  finally 
allowed  the  chapters  to  make  the  election. 

With  respect  to  the  clergy  generally,  we  find  various 
kinds  of  patronage.  To  the  fylke  church  the  king  in  the 
early  days  presented,  but  gradually  the  bishops  acquired 
the  right.  Even  at  first  this  was  not  the  universal  rule,  for 
in  the  Gula  Thing  district  the  bishops  seem  always  to  have 
presented  to  these  churches. 

The  appointment  to  the  herreds  church  partook  of  the 
nature  of  an  arrangement  between  the  bishop  and  the 
parishioners.  The  old  law  provided  that  the  bishop  was  to 
nominate  a  priest  to  these  parishes  for  a  period  of  twelve 
months.  If  at  the  end  of  this  time  the  priest  had  carried 
out  the  duties  of  his  office  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the 
parishioners,  then  he  obtained  what  we  might  call  a  freehold 
benefice,  and  could  not  be  removed  from  his  parish  by  the 
bishop  except  for  some  canonical  reason.  In  later  times  it 
would  seem  that  the  privileges  of  the  parishioners  became 
disregarded,  and  they  only  had  a  right  to  make  a  protest 
against  the  episcopal  nominee. 

The  h0gendes  churches,  or  private  chapels,  were  naturally 
in  the  patronage  of  those  who  built  and  maintained  them, 
and  the  bishop  had  no  direct  voice  in  the  appointment. 

The  incomes  of  the  bishops  and  clergy  in  the  time  of 
which  we  are  treating,  were  derived  from  various  sources. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  tithes  in  Norway  only  dated 
from  the  reign  of  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer,  who  instituted  them 


124  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

on  his  return  from  his  famous  Crusade.  Before  their 
establishment  the  episcopal  income  was  mainly  derived 
from  what  was  called  the  biskopsrede,  or  bishops'  tax. 
This  was  a  poll  tax  on  all  males  in  his  diocese.  In  addition 
to  it  he  had  a  share  in  the  fines  which  were  levied  for 
various  ecclesiastical  offences,  and  also  the  fees,  sanctioned 
by  law,  for  the  performance  of  episcopal  functions,  such  as 
the  consecration  of  churches,  &c.  When  tithes  were 
introduced  the  old  biskopsrede  gradually  ceased. 

The  clergy  of  the  fylke  churches  were  in  a  somewhat 
better  position  than  the  rest  of  their  brethren.  In  the 
heathen  times  there  were  frequently  endowments  given  to 
the  maintenance  of  the  fylke  hov,  and  these  passed  over  to 
the  Christian  priests.  The  early  Christian  kings  had  also, 
in  many  instances,  given  grants  of  land  for  the  support  of 
the  fylke  churches. 

The  provision  for  the  clergy  of  the  her  reds  churches  was 
of  a  more  uncertain  nature,  and  it  mainly  consisted  of 
voluntary  contributions,  and  also  of  the  legally-enforced 
fees  for  marriages,  baptisms,  burials,  &c.  The  rest  of  the 
income  was  usually  a  matter  of  arrangement  between  the 
priest  and  his  parishioners.  The  introduction  of  tithes, 
however,  put  an  end  to  this.  The  income  of  the  private 
chapels  was  of  course  provided  by  those  for  whose 
convenience  they  existed. 

The  duties  of  the  bishops  and  clergy  were  mainly  the 
same  as  in  other  places,  but  care  was  taken  by  the  various 
Kristenretter  that  they  should  be  effectively  carried  out : 
the  bishop  was  obliged  to  visit  every  parish  in  his  diocese 
once  a  year,  and  to  remain  in  it  for  three  or  four  days. 
During  his  visitation  tours  he  was  brought  on  his  way  free 
of  charge  by  the  b0nder,  and  maintained  during  his  stay 
by  the  priest  and  people.  If  the  bishop  failed  to  visit  a 
parish  he  forfeited  his  claim  on  the  biskopsrede  from  that 
parish  for  a  year. 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    125 

The  duties  of  the  parish  priests  were  prescribed  with 
much  minuteness  in  the  old  laws,  and  a  list  of  the  holy 
days  upon  which  service  was  to  be  performed  was  drawn 
up.  The  keeping  of  these  days,  as  well  as  Sundays,  was 
strictly  enforced,  and  fines  appointed  for  any  failure  in  this 
respect.  The  priest  was  obliged  to  keep  his  people 
informed  as  to  the  holy  days,  and  a  curious  expedient  was 
adopted  for  the  purpose.  The  Gula  Things  law  ordained 
that  he  should  cut  a  cross  before  each  holy  day  and  send 
it  round  to  every  house  in  his  parish  "  where  smoke 
smoked/'  The  man  to  whose  house  it  came,  had  to  forward 
it  to  his  neighbour,  and  so  the  scattered  inhabitants  of  the 
large  parishes  were  warned  when  the  holy  day  would  come, 
and  were  obliged  to  observe  it  strictly.  A  rigid  observance 
of  these  days  often  caused  much  loss  and  inconvenience 
to  the  people,  and  we  shall  find  later  on  that  they  obtained 
a  special  dispensation  to  continue  the  work  of  harvesting 
and  fishing  on  them  when  necessity  so  required.  In  con- 
nection with  funerals  there  were  some  curious  customs. 
The  priest  had,  before  the  funeral,  to  go  to  the  house  of 
the  deceased  and  to  sing  a  dirge  over  the  body,  as  well  as 
saying  the  appointed  service  in  the  churchyard.  A  few 
days  after  the  burial  a  feast  known  as  the  Arve0l  (lit.  the 
inheritance  beer)  was  held,  at  which  the  heir  of  the  deceased 
entered  upon  his  inheritance.  At  this  ceremony  the  priest 
had  to  be  present,  and  to  bless  the  beer,  and  he,  with  his 
wife,  sat  in  the  high  seat.  This  festivity  was  also  known 
as  the  sjcele0l9  because  the  beer  was  drunk  in  memory  of 
the  sjcel  or  soul  of  the  departed. 

The  position  of  the  parochial  clergy  in  the  early  times 
was  not  always  an  easy  one.  Later  on  when  the  power  of 
the  Church,  under  the  guidance  of  the  archbishops,  had 
vastly  increased,  they  formed  a  part  of  the  well- drilled 
army  of  the  Church  in  Europe,  which  often  defied  the 
power  of  kaisers  and  kings.  But  in  Norway  before  the 


126  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  they  were  very  much  in 
the  hands  of  their  parishioners,  and  episcopal  control  was 
not  very  effective.  The  clergy  were  in  the  closest  connec- 
tion with  the  b0nder,  whose  sons  they  were,  and,  being  a 
married  priesthood,  they  were  more  liable  to  local  influences. 
The  people  who  were  ready,  if  need  be,  to  support  them 
against  the  bishop  were  also  quite  prepared  to  hold  them 
in  bondage  to  themselves.  The  Kristenret  of  the  Borgar 
Thing  laid  down  that  the  priest  was  not  to  be  absent  from 
his  parish,  except  he  obtained  permission  from  his  congrega- 
tion the  Sunday  before.  The  only  exception  to  this  being, 
if  he  was  going  to  attend  a  presto,  motz,  or  clerical 
meeting. 

The  first  priests  in  Norway  were  doubtless  men  who 
came  from  England  or  Germany,  to  work  under  the  bishops 
who  accompanied  the  two  Olafs,  and  were  almost  altogether 
foreigners,  though  of  course  speaking  the  language  of  the 
people.  But  the  next  generation  of  priests  were  largely 
natives  whom  the  first  priests  had  trained,  and  who  had 
been  admitted  to  the  inferior  orders.  They  were  unlearned 
men  with  just  sufficient  instruction  to  enable  them  to  per- 
form the  Divine  service.  When  after  the  year  1100 
monastic  life  was  firmly  established,  there  were  greater 
opportunities  for  learning,  and  there  was  a  corresponding 
improvement  in  the  education  of  the  Norwegian  priests. 

In  spite  of  the  difficulties  which  the  Church  in  Norway 
had  to  contend  against  in  the  first  century  of  its  existence, 
it  already  ranked  high  among  the  Churches  of  Western 
Europe  for  the  zeal  and  piety  of  its  members.  We  possess 
a  very  remarkable  piece  of  evidence  with  respect  to  this,  in 
the  writings  of  Adam  of  Bremen  with  regard  to  several 
points  connected  with  the  early  history  of  Norwegian 
Christianity.  It  is  all  the  more  valuable,  as  the  Church  of 
Bremen  was  not  particularly  inclined  to  look  with  favour 
on  the  work  of  the  English  bishops  and  priests  in  Norway, 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    127 

who  were  not  the  emissaries  of  the  great  North  German  see, 
and  who  had  accomplished  what  the  Bremen  missionaries 
had  more  or  less  failed  to  effect ;  but  though  praising  the 
people,  he  cannot  refrain  from  attacking  the  English  priests. 

In  Adam's  description  of  Norway^  he  thus  writes,  con- 
trasting the  condition  of  the  country,  in  the  old  heathen 
and  Viking  days  and  the  time  which  followed  the 
introduction  of  Christianity: — 

"After  they  received  Christianity,  being  imbued  with 
fuller  knowledge,  they  have  now  learned  to  love  peace  and 
truth,  and  to  be  content  in  their  poverty ;  yea,  to  distribute 
what  they  have  stored  up,  and  not,  as  aforetime,  to  gather 
up  what  was  scattered.  And,  although  they  had  from 
the  beginning  all  been  enslaved  by  the  evil  arts  of  wizards, 
now  with  the  apostle  they  in  simplicity  '  confess  Christ  and 
Him  crucified/ 

"  Of  all  men  they  are  the  most  temperate,  both  in  food 
and  in  their  habits,  loving  above  all  things  thrift  and 
modesty.  In  addition  to  this,  so  great  is  their  veneration 
for  priests  and  churches,  that  there  is  scarcely  a  Christian 
to  be  found  who  does  not  on  every  occasion  that  he  hears 
Mass  make  an  offering.  Baptism,  however,  and  confirma- 
tion, the  dedication  of  altars,  and  the  blessing  of  Holy 
Orders,  with  them,  as  well  as  with  the  Danes,  are  all  highly 
paid  for.  This,  I  consider,  springs  from  the  avarice  of  the 
priests,  because  up  to  now  the  barbarians  are  either  ignorant 
of,  or  unwilling  to  pay,  tithes,  and  therefore  they  are  com- 
pelled to  pay  for  what  should  be  offered  free — for  everything 
there  costs  money,  even  the  visitation  of  the  sick  and  the 
burial  of  the  dead.  Their  morals  are  of  such  a  high 
character  that  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  only  by  the  avarice 
of  their  priests  that  they  are  corrupted.  In  many  places  in 

*  "  Descriptio  insularum  Aquilonis,"  Chap.  xxx.  Adam  lived  in  the 
middle  and  end  of  the  eleventh  century,  and  was  therefore  a  con- 
temporary of  Olaf  Kyrre. 


128  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Norway  and  Sweden  the  tenders  of  the  flocks  are  men 
even  of  the  most  noble  rank,  who,  after  the  manner  of  the 
patriarchs,  live  by  the  work  of  their  hands.  But  all  who 
dwell  in  Norway  are  most  devout  Christians  (Christian- 
issimi),  with  the  exception  of  those  who  are  far  off  beside 
the  seas  of  the  Arctic  regions/7 

The  period  which  ends  with  the  reign  of  Sigurd 
Jorsalfarer  is  remarkable  also  for  the  introduction  of 
tithes  and  for  the  estabHshment  of  monasticism  in  Norway 
on  a  firm  basis. 

In  the  early  days  the  incomes  of  the  bishops  and  clergy 
were  mainly  dependent  on  the  voluntary  offerings  of  the 
people  and  the  smaller,  law-appointed  bisJcopsrede  and 
payments  to  the  fylke  churches.  But  under  Sigurd  an 
important  change  took  place.  It  is  said  that  when  on  his 
memorable  Crusade,  he  made  a  vow  that  if  he  returned 
home  in  safety,  he  would  introduce  tithes  into  Norway. 
This  he  did,  and  from  his  time  we  find  that  they  gradually 
superseded  the  older  system  of  payments,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  Church. 

The  apportionment  of  tithe  in  Norway  was  four-fold — 
(1)  To  the  support  of  the  parish  church ;  (2)  to  the  bishop ; 
(3)  to  the  parish  priest ;  (4)  to  the  poor  of  the  parish. 
This  was  by  no  means  a  popular  move,  as  the  people 
regarded  it  in  the  light  of  a  new  tax  on  the  necessities  of 
life,  tithe  being  levied  not  merely  on  agriculture,  but  on 
the  harvest  of  the  sea  and  on  the  cattle.  Its  introduction 
was  apparently  gradual,  but  there  were  parts  of  Norway 
(such  as  the  Telemark)  where  it  was  resisted,  and,  with 
more  or  less  success,  down  to  the  time  of  the  Reformation, 
when  all  the  property  of  the  Church  was  seized  by  the 
State. 

The  establishment  of  tithe  was  naturally  a  very  impor- 
tant thing  for  the  Church,  as  it  rendered  the  clergy  much 
more  independent  of  their  people,  and  they  were  no  longer 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    129 

liable  to  be  starved  out,  if  they  acted  in  a  way  dis- 
pleasing to  the  majority  of  their  parishioners,  which  was 
quite  possible  under  the  old  system. 

The  close  of  the  eleventh  century,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth,  saw  also,  among  other  important  developments 
in  the  organization  of  the  Church,  the  firm  establishment 
of  monasticism  in  Norway.^  It  was  hardly  to  be  expected 
that  at  first  this  form  of  religious  life  would  commend 
itself  to  the  national  character.  A  people  accustomed  to  a 
life  of  adventure,  and  among  whom  warlike  expeditions 
and  constant  civil  war,  continued  almost  without  inter- 
mission for  the  first  century  after  they  had  embraced 
Christianity,  would  not  willingly  adopt  the  quiet  and 
regular  life  of  a  religious  community. 

The  earliest  monastic  establishment,  however,  seems  to 
have  been  the  one  which  Knut  the  Great,  shortly  before 
the  defeat  and  death  of  St.  Olaf,  founded  on  the  little 
island  of  Nidarholm  (afterwards  called  Munkholm),  which 
lay  in  the  fjord  close  to  the  town  of  Nidaros.  Knut's 
bishop,  Sigurd,  who  did  all  in  his  power  to  incite  the 
people  against  St.  Olaf,  seems  to  have  been  mainly 
instrumental  in  this,  and  the  Benedictines  were  the  first 
of  the  monastic  orders  who  thus  obtained  a  footing  in 
the  land. 

The  movement,  however,  did  not  spread,  and  the 
country  remained  for  some  time  longer  without  any  other 
monasteries.  When,  however,  a  long  period  of  peaceful 
progress  ensued,  during  the  reigns  of  Olaf  Kyrre  and 
the  sons  of  Magnus  Barfot,  we  begin  to  find  the  religious 
orders  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  The  Crusade 
of  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer  taught  the  Norsemen  many  things, 
and  the  hardy  band  of  the  Northern  Crusaders  could 
not  have  failed  to  be  impressed  by  the  great  monasteries 

*  For  the  history  of  monasticism  in  Norway  the  great  authority  is 
Lange's  important  work,  " De  NorsJce  Klostres Historie" 

C.S.N.  K 


130  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

which  they  must  have  seen  in  the  southern  countries  of 
Europe. 

The  earliest  monks,  like  the  earliest  of  the  secular  priests, 
were  undoubtedly  Englishmen,  who,  leaving  their  great 
establishments  in  England,  settled  down  among  the  Norse- 
men and  began  to  teach  them  the  arts,  which  at  that  time, 
were  only  to  be  learned  in  such  communities. 

The  Benedictines  were  the  first  comers,  as  we  have  seen, 
and  in  addition  to  Nidarholm  they  were  duly  established 
on  the  little  island  of  Selje,  where  the  shrine  of  St.  Sunniva 
was  kept  until  its  transference  to  Bergen.  The  monastery 
on  that  island  was  dedicated  to  St.  Alban,  probably  the 
English  proto-martyr. 

Next  after  the  Benedictines  came  the  Cistercians  and 
Augustinians ;  the  former  were,  in  Norway,  closely  associated 
with  the  Benedictines.  The  latter  had,  as  their  earliest 
establishments,  Elgesaeter,  close  to  Nidaros,  the  Jons 
Kloster  at  Bergen  and  the  great  monastery  at  Halsn0,  in 
S0ndhordland.  The  Cistercians  had,  as  the  earliest  of  their 
monasteries,  the  one  at  Lyse,*  about  twenty  miles  from 
Bergen,  which  was  first  served  by  English  monks  from 
Fountains  Abbey,  in  Yorkshire.  They  came  on  the  invitation 
of  Bishop  Sigurd  of  Bergen  (who  had  been  on  a  visit  to 
Fountains)  under  Eanulf  as  their  first  abbot.  Monks  from 
Lincoln,  the  year  after  the  foundation  of  Lyse,  established 
another  monastery  of  the  same  order  on  Hoved0,  an  island 
close  to  Oslo. 

These  were  the  earliest  of  the  monastic  orders  in  Norway, 
and  later  on  came  the  Premonstratensians.  The  Dominicans 
and  Franciscans  arrived  in  the  following  century.  The  only 

'  This  place  is  remarkable  as  being  "  the  only  Norse  monastery  the 
history  of  whose  foundation  is  preserved,  and  that  by  means  of  a  docu- 
ment published  in  England." — Metcalfe's  Introduction  to  the  "  Passio 
et  Miracula  Beati  Olaui "  of  Archbishop  Eystein.  Clarendon  Press, 
Oxford,  1887. 


CHURCH  ORGANIZATION  IN  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES.    131 

northern  order,  that  of  St.  Birgitta,  we  shall  meet  with  at 
the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

It  is  only  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  indicate  as  above 
what  orders  established  themselves  in  Norway ;  the  history 
of  these  various  foundations  is  beyond  the  scope  of  our 
present  inquiry. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  MISSION  OF  CARDINAL  NICHOLAS    BREAKSPEARE. 
MAGNUS  ERLINGSS0N  AND  ARCHBISHOP  EYSTEIN. 

Civil  War — Sigurd,  Eystein,  and  Inge,  joint  Kings — Reidar,  the  First 
Archbishop  of  Nidaros— The  Mission  of  Cardinal  Nicholas,  1152 — 
The  New  Province  of  Nidaros — The  Results  which  followed  the 
Mission  of  Cardinal  Nicholas — Civil  War  again — Erling  Skakke — 
Archbishop  Eystein — His  Policy — Erling's  compact  with  Eystein — 
The  Coronation  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n — The  Triumph  of  the  Church 
over  the  State — The  Rise  of  the  Birkebeiner — Magnus  victorious 
at  Re. 

THE  sad  forebodings  which  filled  the  mind  of  Sigurd 
Jorsalfarer  in  the  closing  days  of  his  life,  were  but  too  fully 
realized  in  the  events  which  followed.  His  and  his  brother's 
reign  had  been  a  time  of  peaceful  progress  for  Norway  ; 
and,  saved  from  foreign  invasion  and  internal  strife,  the 
country  had  made  great  strides  in  material  prosperity  and 
social  advancement.  But  all  this  was  now  to  receive  a 
check,  and  for  close  upon  a  century  civil  war  raged  almost 
without  intermission,  and  the  progress  which  had  been  so 
marked,  absolutely  ceased  for  a  time.  The  period  was, 
however,  characterized  by  a  very  great  increase  in  the  power 
and  authority  of  the  Church,  which  profited  by  the  weak- 
ness of  the  rival  kings  to  advance  her  claims  ;  for  none  of 
them  dared  to  speak  with  the  tones  of  Haardraade  and 
declare  that  he  was  the  sole  ruler  in  the  Church  as  well  as 
the  State. 

Sigurd  was  no  sooner  dead  than  Harald  Gille  (disregard- 
ing his  oath  which  he  had  taken  before  proving  his  claim 
by  ordeal)  had  himself  chosen  as  king,  by  a  gathering  at 
T0nsberg.  At  the  same  time  Magnus's  adherents  proclaimed 


I 


®i  T 


ST.    ANDREAS    KIRKE— BORGUND,    LXERDAL. 

Erected  about  1150.    An  excellent  example  of  the  Norwegian 
Stcwfeirke.    See  Appendix  II. 


{To  face  p.  132, 


or THE 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


HARALD   GILLE.  133 

him  king  in  Oslo.  Harald  justified  himself  for  this  breach 
of  his  oath  by  maintaining  that  he  only  took  it  under  com- 
pulsion. An  immediate  outbreak  was  averted  by  the  chiefs 
on  both  sides,  and  the  two  divided  the  kingdom.  This, 
however,  only  lasted  for  about  four  years,  and  in  1134 
Magnus  attacked  Harald,  who  was  obliged  to  fly  the  country. 
Early  in  January,  1135,  Harald,  having  got  help,  came 
back  and  surprised  Magnus  in  Bergen,  and  cruelly  blinded 
and  mutilated  him,  and  the  miserable  man  sought  refuge  in 
a  monastery  in  Nidaros,  and  left  the  country  to  Harald. 

The  latter,  however,  did  not  profit  by  his  cruel  deed,  and 
much  indignation  was  felt  throughout  the  country.  This 
was  increased  by  a  further  atrocity.  Harald,  who  had  tried 
in  vain  to  extract  from  Magnus  the  secret  of  the  place 
where  his  treasure  was  hidden,  had  reason  to  believe  that 
Eeinald,  the  bishop  of  Stavanger,  was  in  the  ex-king's 
confidence.  On  his  refusal  to  assist  Harald  he  was  ordered 
to  pay  a  heavy  fine,  and  when  he  declined  to  do  so,  on 
the  ground  of  its  impoverishing  the  revenues  of  the  see, 
Harald,  in  his  rage  and  fury,  condemned  him  to  be  hung. 
This  atrocious  sentence  was  carried  out  on  January  18th, 
1135. 

This  savage  king  was  not  long  left  to  rule  alone.  We 
have  seen  what  a  dangerous  precedent  was  established  when 
Harald  was  allowed  to  prove  his  claim  by  ordeal.  He  had 
now  to  permit  another  to  do  the  same  thing.  The  new 
claimant  was  a  man  named  Sigurd,  who  alleged  that  he, 
like  Harald,  was  a  son  of  Magnus  Barfot.  This  claimant 
had,  it  seems,  been  trained  up  for  holy  orders,  and  had 
actually  been  ordained  deacon,  hence  the  name  by  which  he 
became  known  of  Slembediakn,  the  bad  deacon,  or,  as  it  is 
usually  shortened,  Slembe.  He  arrived  in  Bergen  in  1136, 
and  Harald  was  most  reluctantly  obliged  to  admit  his 
claim ;  this  Sigurd  repaid  by  having  Harald  treacherously 
murdered  in  his  bed.  Sigurd  then  thought  that,  having 


134  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

removed  his  brother,  he  would  have  the  kingdom  to  himself ; 
but  he  was  quickly  told  that,  as  his  brother's  murderer,  they 
would  have  none  of  him,  and  if  Harald  was  not  his  brother 
he  would  have  no  claim  to  the  throne. 

A  wearisome  strife  followed.  The  chiefs  took  as  kings 
Harald's  two  sons,  Sigurd  and  Inge,  who  were  but  little 
children,  and  prepared  to  defend  them  against  the  fratricide, 
Sigurd  Slembe.  Then  Sigurd,  to  strengthen  his  cause,  went 
to  Nidaros  and  took  the  poor  blind  Magnus  out  of  his 
monastery  and  forced  him  to  follow  his  army.  The  civil 
war  raged  with  varying  fortune  until  1139,  when  the  un- 
fortunate Magnus  was  killed  and  Sigurd  Slembe  taken 
prisoner  in  a  battle  at  Holmengraa,  near  Str0mstad.  The 
war  had  aroused  the  worst  passions  of  both  parties,  and  the 
wretched  Slembe  was  put  to  death  after  horrible  cruelties 
had  been  inflicted  on  him,  which  he  seems  to  have  met 
bravely,  and  we  are  told  that  he  sang  the  psalms  until  death 
ended  his  tortures. 

Two  kings  having  now  been  disposed  of,  there  remained 
but  Sigurd  and  Inge.  The  former  was  known  as  Sigurd 
Mund,  Sigurd  of  the  Mouth,  as  that  was  the  most  prominent 
feature  of  his  face  ;  and  the  latter  as  Inge  Krokryg,  or  the 
Humpback,  the  hardships  of  his  early  days,  and  his  having 
been  carried  about  to  all  the  battles  of  the  civil  war, 
having  caused  the  deformity.  But  they  were  not  to  be  left 
to  rule  alone,  for  in  1142  their  brother  Ey stein  arrived  in 
Norway  from  Scotland,  and  claimed  and  received  his  share 
of  the  kingdom.  There  were  now  no  less  than  three  kings 
of  Norway,  and  this  situation  contained  all  the  elements  of 
future  disturbance,  but  for  the  time,  as  all  the  kings  were 
so  young,  there  was  a  short  interval  of  peace,  and  the 
country  began  to  recover  itself  a  little  from  the  desolations 
of  the  previous  civil  war. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  famous  mission  of  Cardinal 
Nicholas  Breakspeare  took  place,  which  led  to  such  important 


THE  MISSION  OF  NICHOLAS  BREAKSPEARE.       135 

results  in  the  future  development  of  the  Church  ;  but  here 
we  must  retrace  our  steps. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  in  the  first  year  of  the 
joint  reign  of  Ey stein  and  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer  (1104)  that 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  see  of  Bremen  over  the  three 
northern  kingdoms  ended  by  the  elevation  of  the  see  of 
Lund,  in  Sweden,  but  politically  in  Denmark,  to  metro- 
politan dignity.  This  step  finally  terminated  the  disputes 
which  had  been  carried  on  between  the  bishops  in  Norway 
from  the  earliest  times  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity 
under  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  and  the  archbishops  of  Bremen. 
The  change  of  the  metropolitan  see  from  Bremen  to  Lund 
was  chiefly  due  to  the  initiative  of  the  Danish  kings,  who 
found  the  archbishops  of  Bremen  much  too  ready  to  inter- 
fere in  the  internal  affairs  of  Denmark.  Svein  Ulfss0n 
seems  to  have  opened  negotiations  with  the  Pope  for  this 
purpose,  but  nothing  definite  was  settled.  Later,  Erik  the 
Good,  of  Denmark,  applied  to  Urban  II.,  who  was  favourable 
to  the  project  of  a  Danish  metropolitan,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  time  of  Pope  Paschal  II.  that  the  plan  was  carried  out. 
Liemar,  the  archbishop  of  Bremen  who  had  been  the  friend 
of  the  Kaiser  Henry  II.,  died  in  1101,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Archbishop  Hubert. 

In  1103  the  Pope  sent  a  cardinal  legate  to  Denmark  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the  king.  He 
chose  Lund  as  the  most  suitable  place,  and  invested  the 
bishop  there  with  the  pallium.  Thus  Denmark,  Norway, 
and  Sweden  ceased  to  be  any  longer  under  the  metropolitan 
jurisdiction  of  the  archbishops  of  Bremen. 

From  this  time,  down  to  the  middle  of  the  century, 
Norway  was  officially  under  the  authority  of  the  see  of 
Lund,  and  most  of  the  bishops  were  consecrated  there,  but 
notwithstanding  this,  the  old  connection  with  the  English 
Church  was  closely  maintained.  Most  of  the  monasteries 
which  sprang  up  in  Norway  at  that  time  were  filled  with 


136  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

monks  and  priors  from  England.  Stavanger  diocese  seems 
to  have  been  closely  allied  to  Winchester,  and  the  cathedral, 
as  we  have  already  noted,  bore,  and  still  bears,  the  honoured 
name  of  the  great  prelate  of  Winchester,  St.  S  within. 
The  monastery  of  Lyse,  which  was  situated  only  a  few 
miles  from  Bergen,  was  the  foundation  of  monks  from 
Fountains  Abbey,  in  Yorkshire.^ 

No  difficulties,  however,  seem  to  have  arisen  between  the 
Norwegian  Church  and  the  see  of  Lund  in  the  fifty  odd 
years  during  which  its  authority  extended  over  Norway.  It 
was  felt,  however,  that  as  Norway  had  now  a  fully 
recognized  place  among  the  nations  of  Europe  her  claim 
to  a  separate  ecclesiastical  province  could  not  be  denied, 
especially  after  the  famous  exploits  of  the  Norwegian  King 
Sigurd  in  his  Crusade.  That  monarch  during  his  stay  in 
Jerusalem  is  said  to  have  announced  his  intention  of  estab- 
lishing a  metropolitan  see  in  Norway,  but  no  formal  steps 
in  this  direction  appear  to  have  been  taken. 

Thus  matters  remained  until  the  period  which  we  have 
now  reached  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  when  the  country 
found  itself  under  the  weak  rule  of  the  three  joint  kings, 
Eystein,  Sigurd,  and  Inge,  the  sons  of  Harald  Gille. 

That  negotiations  must  have  been  carried  on  with  Rome, 
and  the  see  of  Nidaros  selected  as  the  one  for  metropolitan 
dignity  is  clear,  but  there  are  no  records  of  them.  We 
learn,  however,  that  in  1151  Bishop  Reidar  of  Nidaros  was 
invested  with  the  pallium  in  Rome  as  archbishop.  He, 
however,  died  very  soon  after  his  appointment,  and  before 
he  had  time  to  return  to  Norway. 

The  year  after,  the  Pope  (Eugenius  III.)  took  the  neces- 
sary steps  for  selecting  the  metropolitan  see  for  Norway,  and, 
following  the  precedent  of  his  predecessor  (Paschal  II.)  in 
1103,  he  dispatched  a  cardinal  legate  to  the  North.  For 
this  purpose  the  Pope  selected  the  famous  Englishman 

*  See  p.  130. 


THE  MISSION  OF  NICHOLAS  BREAKSPEAKE.       137 

Nicholas  Breakspeare,  at  that  time  cardinal  archbishop  of 
Albano.  There  are  few  more  striking  stories  than  that  of 
the  life  of  this  famous  prelate,  who,  from  being  a  poor  lad 
begging  for  bread  at  St.  Albans,  rose  at  last  to  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter,  and  was  the  only  Englishman  who  ever  filled  that 
exalted  post.  It  was  to  his  own  great  talents  and  power 
that  he  owed  his  elevation.  After  leaving  England  he  went 
to  the  monastery  of  St.  Eufus,  in  Provence,  where  his  great 
learning  and  ability  gained  him,  after  some  time,  the  post 
of  prior.  Though  he  had  been  unanimously  chosen  by  the 
monks,  his  stern  rule  made  him  unpopular  with  them,  and 
they  appealed  to  the  Pope,  who,  at  once  seeing  what  a 
strong  man  Nicholas  was,  determined  to  exalt  him  to  higher 
rank,  and,  appointing  another  prior  to  St.  Kufus,  made 
Breakspeare  a  cardinal,  and  archbishop  of  Albano. 

A  wiser  selection  than  this  astute  Churchman  to  bring  the 
Norwegian  Church  fully  under  Koman  obedience  could  not 
possibly  have  been  made.  With  all  his  firmness  of  purpose 
the  legate  was  a  man  of  the  most  winning  disposition,  and 
secured  for  ever  a  firm  place  in  the  affections  of  the 
Norwegian  people. 

When  he  arrived  in  Norway  he  found  the  three  kings  on 
indifferent  terms  with  one  another,  and  he  skilfully  availed 
himself  of  this,  in  order  to  advance  and  confirm  the 
authority  of  the  Church.  Of  the  three  brothers,  the  best 
was  undoubtedly  the  delicate  Inge  Krokryg,  for  whom 
the  legate  seems  to  have  entertained  a  warm  feeling  of 
regard. 

In  July,  1152,  the  cardinal  came  from  England  to 
Norway,  where  he  was  received  with  great  honour.  Steps 
were  immediately  taken  to  call  together  a  representative 
assembly  of  the  whole  kingdom.  This  seems  undoubtedly 
to  have  been  held  at  Nidaros  (though,  curiously,  we  have 
no  actual  record  of  the  exact  place),  for  no  other  town  was 
as  likely  to  have  been  selected  as  that  where  the  body  of  the 


138  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

national  saint  reposed,  and  whose  bishop  was  now  to  be 
advanced  to  metropolitan  dignity. 

At  this  gathering  the  three  kings  were  all  present.  The 
bishops  of  Bergen,  Stavanger,  and  Oslo,  along  with  twelve 
representative  men  from  each  diocese,  gave  the  meeting 
the  character  of  a  national  assembly.  The  see  of  Nidaros 
was  vacant  at  the  time,  as  Reidar  was  only  a  few  months 
dead,  and  the  vacancy  still  remained,  the  kings  having 
probably  purposely  abstained  from  appointing  his  successor 
until  the  visit  of  the  cardinal. 

It  was  decided  that  Nidaros  should  be  chosen  as  the 
metropolitan  see,  and  the  vacancy  was  filled  up  by  the 
translation  from  Bergen  of  the  bishop  Jon  Byrgess0n,  who 
was  forthwith  invested  with  the  pallium  by  Cardinal 
Nicholas  at  a  function  marked  with  great  solemnity.  The 
province  for  the  new  archbishop  was  a  widespread  one, 
embracing  not  only  Norway,  but  all  those  other  lands 
which  had  been  either  colonized,  or  conquered  by  the 
Norwegians.  It  was  decided  that  the  diocese  of  Oslo  must 
be  divided,  and  Hamar,  on  the  Mi0sen  Lake,  was  selected 
as  the  most  suitable  centre  of  the  new  diocese,  which 
was  to  consist  chiefly  of  the  Oplands  and  surrounding 
districts. 

The  new  metropolitan  of  Nidaros  had  therefore  under 
his  jurisdiction  the  following  sees  : — 

NORWAY — Bergen,  Stavanger,  Oslo,  and  Hamar. 

ICELAND — Skaalholt  and  Hole. 

G  REENL AND — Garde .  * 

F^ER0ERNE  (Faeroe  Islands,  p.  57) — Kirkeb0  in  Straum0. 

ORKNEYS — Kirkevaag. 

SODOR  (Suder0erne)  and  MAN. 

*  An  interesting  point  connected  with  this  see  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  Norwegian  colony  founded  in  North  America  about  the  year  1000, 
and  which  lingered  on  for  a  considerable  time  (much  longer  than  is 
usually  supposed),  lay  in  the  diocese  of  Garde. 


THE  MISSION  OF  NICHOLAS  BREAKSPEARE.       139 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  including  Nidaros  itself,  eleven 
sees  made  up  the  province,  and  when  we  remember  the 
immense  distance  which  separated  some  of  the  suffragan 
bishops  from  their  archbishop,  such  as  Garde  and  Man,  it 
was  not  likely  that,  except  in  Norway  and  Iceland,  any 
very  effective  control  could  easily  be  maintained  over 
these  far-distant  dioceses.  The  bishops  who  ruled  over  the 
Norwegian  Church  in  Ireland  in  former  years  had  at  this 
time  come  practically  under  the  control  of  the  Irish 
metropolitans. 

The  stay  of  Cardinal  Nicholas  was  marked  by  several 
very  important  changes  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church 
in  Norway,  into  which  we  must  enter  in  detail ;  but  here 
we  may  say  that  his  mission  was  entirely  successful,  and 
he  left  the  country  having  won  the  honour  and  love  of  all 
the  people.  From  Norway  he  went  to  Sweden  for  a  short 
time,  and  then  returned  to  Eome.  Two  years  afterwards, 
on  the  death  of  Anastasius  IV.  in  1154,  he  was  chosen  as 
his  successor,  and  assumed  the  tiara  with  the  title  of 
Adrian  IV.  During  his  short  reign  as  Pope  (1154 — 1159) 
he  never  forgot  his  friends  in  the  North,  and  it  is  told  of 
him  "that  no  matter  what  important  business  he  might 
have  on  hands,  he  would  always  give  an  audience  first  to 
the  Northmen  when  they  sought  it,'7  and,  though  never 
canonized,  they  reverenced  him  as  a  saint. 

We  must  now  sum  up  the  results  which  followed  from 
this  important  mission. 

From  what  we  have  learned  of  the  state  of  the  Church 
in  Norway  from  the  days  of  St.  Olaf  to  the  coming  of 
Nicholas,  it  is  quite  clear  that  there  was  a  great  deal  which 
would  not  at  all  commend  itself  to  the  papal  theories  of 
government,  which  were  fully  established  in  the  middle  of 
the  twelfth  century.  The  bishops  and  clergy  were  very 
far  from  being  the  well-drilled  and  disciplined  ecclesiastical 
force  which  the  papacy  had  organized  in  other  parts  of 


140  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Europe.  They  were  ready  enough  to  conform  in  matters 
of  doctrine,  but  there  was  amongst  them  a  very  strong 
feeling  of  dislike  to  any  kind  of  foreign  interference,  which 
was  most  characteristic  of  the  national  spirit,  and  which 
was  often  manifested  in  England  as  well,  from  which 
country,  the  clergy  were  largely  recruited.  The  stronger 
kings,  we  know,  fiercely  resented  the  claims  of  the  arch- 
bishops of  Bremen,  and  it  was  the  same  spirit  of  aversion 
to  the  rule  of  prelates  outside  Norway  which  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Nidaros  archbishopric.  But  the  time 
was  propitious  for  the  assertion  of  the  power  of  the  Church, 
and  three  weak  kings  made  easy  what  would  have  formerly 
been  an  impossible  task. 

It  was  not  likely  that  cardinals  who  had  recently  seen  the 
triumph  of  the  papacy  over  the  very  greatest  of  the  kaisers, 
would  have  been  inclined  to  regard  with  patience  the  claims 
of  a  few  small  kinglets  in  half-civilized  Norway.  Trained 
up  in  such  a  school,  the  cardinal  archbishop  of  Albano  was 
not  likely  to  look  with  favour  on  a  Church  organization 
in  which  the  king  alone  chose  the  bishops,  and  the  people, 
if  they  did  not  directly  appoint  the  parochial  clergy, 
had  them,  at  any  rate,  very  largely  under  their  control. 
Then  again,  although  the  Pope  was  willingly  recognized  as 
the  head  of  Western  Christendom,  the  recognition  did  not 
proceed  as  far  as  the  popes  (now  at  the  summit  of  their 
temporal  power)  desired,  for  it  brought  them  no  tribute. 
The  freedom-loving  Norseman,  who  only  grudgingly  paid 
skat  to  his  king,  had  no  desire  to  swell  the  papal  treasury 
by  his  share  of  Peter's  pence. 

The  ecclesiastical  revolution — for  it  was  nothing  less  than 
a  revolution — may  be  summed  up  under  the  following 
heads  : — 

1.  The  transference  of  the  choice  of  bishops  from  the 
king  to  the  cathedral  chapters.  Originally,  as  we  have 
noted,  the  bishops  were  but  missionaries  in  episcopal  orders, 


THE  MISSION  OF  NICHOLAS  BREAKSPEARE.       141 

and  they  had  not  for  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after 
the  days  of  Olaf  Trygvess0n,  any  fixed  dioceses  or  regular 
cathedral  churches;  and  when  they  gained  these,  the 
"  sacred  circlet  of  the  presbytery  "  assembled  in  chapter,  was 
wanting.  These  were  supplied  by  the  reforms  of  Cardinal 
Nicholas,  and  to  them  was  given  the  choice  of  the  bishop. 
This  choice,  however,  was  to  be  subject  to  the  royal  approval, 
and  naturally  led  to  frequent  conflicts  in  future  years. 
The  argument  of  the  astute  Churchman  who  succeeded  in 
thus  weakening  the  royal  control  over  the  Church  in  such 
a  striking  way,  was  a  very  reasonable  one,  and  based  on 
the  very  unwise  law  of  succession  to  the  throne  which  pre- 
vailed in  Norway.  Given  three  kings  with  equal  powers, 
what  was  to  happen  if  they  could  not  agree  on  a  suitable 
man — how  much  better  it  would  be  for  the  cathedral 
chapters  to  choose  a  man  subject  to  the  royal  approval. 

2.  The  appointment  to  parishes.     This  was  now  given 
to  the  bishops.     This  was  also  an  infringement  on  the  royal 
power,  for  the  kings  exercised  a  good  deal  of  patronage, 
but  by  no  means  exclusively,  for  the  bishops   appointed 
largely  to  many  parishes,  especially  to  the  herreds  kirker, 
in  which  their  patronage  was  to  a  certain  extent  shared  by 
the  people. 

3.  A   change  in  the  law  of  the  land  with   respect  to 
bequests.      This  power  was   formerly  very   limited,   but 
through  the  cardinal's  influence  it  was  permitted  to  every 
one  to  give  a  tithe  of  inherited  property,  and  one-fourth  of 
personal  earnings  to  any  one  they  desired.    The  presumption 
of  the  old  law  was  practically  that  all  property  belonged 
more  to  the  family  than  to  the  individual,  including  what 
we  would  call  personal  as  well  as  real  property.     Under 
the  old  laws  there  was  recognized  the  custom  of  giving  what 
was  called  a  hovedtiende,  or  chief  tithe.     This  custom  pre- 
vailed  before   the   introduction   of  ordinary  tithes  under 
Sigurd  Jorsalfarer,  and  it  was  only  given  once  in  a  man's 


142  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

life,  usually  on  his  death-bed.  If  paid  by  the  heir  it  was 
known  as  a  sjcelegave,  or  a  gift  for  the  soul  of  the 
deceased.  The  object  of  the  cardinal's  change  in  the  law, 
was  of  course  to  enrich  the  Church,  which  it  eventually  did 
to  a  very  considerable  extent  after  some  years.  It  was 
necessary  that  this  change  in  the  law  of  inheritance  should 
receive  the  sanction  of  the  Things.  This  was  granted  at 
once  by  the  Frosta  Thing  for  the  north,  and  the  Gula  Thing 
for  the  west,  but  it  was  not  until  about  the  year  1224  that 
the  Eidsiva  and  Borgar  Things  accepted  the  new  proposal. 

4.  The  payment  of  Peter's  pence.  If  Norway  was  to 
receive  the  benefits  of  papal  supervision,  it  was  only  natural 
that  the  country  should  pay  its  share  of  the  contributions 
of  Western  Christendom  to  the  papal  see.  This  new 
ecclesiastical  tax  was  known  as  the  Roma  skat,  and  was 
fixed  as  a  Norwegian  "  penny "  to  be  paid  by  all  who 
owned  not  less  than  three  marks,  besides  weapons  and 
clothing. 

All  these  important  results  appear  to  have  followed  from 
the  visit  of  Cardinal  Nicholas,  and  though  they  did  not  all 
at  once  come  into  operation,  yet  we  may  safely  ascribe  them 
to  the  influence  of  this  far-seeing  prelate.  There  was  one 
point,  however,  in  which  he  failed.  The  papal  power  at 
this  time  tried  everywhere  to  enforce  the  new  doctrine  of 
the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  and  it  was  only  to  be  expected 
that  the  cardinal  would  attempt  to  do  the  same  in  Norway. 
We  have  no  clear  information  as  to  what  was  done  by  him 
in  this  direction,  but  later  on,  when  the  bishops  sought  to 
enforce  it  on  the  parish  priests,  as  part  of  the  discipline  of  the 
Church,  it  was  resisted  by  the  clergy,  on  the  ground  that 
Nicholas  had  attempted  it,  and  finding  the  opposition  too 
great,  he  had  then  given  them  permission  to  marry.  It  is 
hardly  likely  that  the  cardinal  had  given  any  formal  per- 
mission, for  what  was  so  entirely  contrary  to  the  designs  of 
the  papacy  at  the  time  ;  but  it  is  probable  that,  perceiving 


THE  MISSION  OF  NICHOLAS  BRBAKSPEARE.       143 

the  clergy  were  very  determined  on  the  point,  and  being  a 
very  far-seeing  and  prudent  man,  he  did  not  wish  to  risk 
the  success  of  the  other  great  results  which  he  had  achieved, 
by  insisting  on  the  celibacy  of  the  priests,  and  his  acquies- 
cence in  this  was  taken  by  them  as  a  formal  permission. 
The  cardinal  doubtless  saw,  and  saw  rightly,  that  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy  would  follow,  when  the  authority  of 
the  bishops,  who  were  directly  under  the  papal  power, 
began  to  make  itself  felt. 

To  Nicholas  has  also  been  ascribed  the  drawing  up  of  a 
catechism  for  the  instruction  of  the  young,  but  for  this  we 
have  no  positive  authority.  He  doubtless  impressed  upon 
the  clergy  the  extreme  importance  of  attending  to  cate- 
chetical instruction,  and  indicated  the  lines  upon  which  it 
should  proceed.  It  is  very  probably  true,  as  has  been 
stated,  that  in  addition  to  the  Creed  and  Paternoster  which 
formed  the  foundation  of  the  earliest  Christian  teaching  in 
Norway,  he  added  the  Ave  Maria* 

Thus  was  Norway  brought  fully  under  the  dominion  of 
the  Apostolic  see  and  its  metropolitans  invested  by  Kome 
with  the  pa]  Hum,  the  outward  sign  of  their  authority.  The 
old  semi-independent  days  were  now  over,  and  a  new  era 
dawned  upon  the  Church.  Hitherto  the  struggles  which 
had  raged  so  fiercely  in  other  lands  between  the  Church 
and  the  State  were  unknown,  but  the  time  was  not  far  distant 
when  Norway  was  to  be  the  scene  of  many  similar  conflicts. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  closer  connection  between 
Norway  and  Eome  was  of  very  great  benefit  to  the  cause 

*  It  may  also  be  noticed  that  a  change  was  made  in  the  form  in 
which  the  laws  began.  The  oldest  form  which  we  have  of  the  Gula 
Things  law,  began  thus  :  "  It  is  the  foundation  of  our  law  that  we 
should  bow  to  the  East  and  pray  to  the  Holy  Christ  for  a  good  season  and 
peace,"  &c.  In  1274  we  find  the  same  laws  (under  Magnus  Lagab0ter) 
opening  with  these  words  :  "  The  peace  and  blessing  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  our  Lady  the  Holy  Mary,  and  the  prayers  of  the  holy 
King  Olaf  and  all  the  saints  be  with  us,  and  all  the  Gula  Things  men." 


144  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

of  religion  and  learning,  whilst  the  old  Norse  love  of  in- 
dependence and  freedom,  prevented  the  growth  of  that 
spirit  of  servility  manifested  in  other  lands  under  the 
Eoman  supremacy.  The  learned  and  pious  men  who 
from  time  to  time  filled  the  highest  offices  in  the  Church, 
used  their  influence  in  spreading  civilization,  and  the 
true  spirit  of  Christianity  amongst  the  rough,  and  in 
many  cases  still  even  half-barbarous,  inhabitants  of  the 
wild  mountain  valleys  of  Norway.  When  we  remember 
how,  even  in  our  own  day,  many  districts  are  still  remote 
and  inaccessible,  we  can  see  how  difficult  it  must  have 
been  in  the  middle  ages  to  minister  to  the  higher  needs 
of  the  people,  and  to  teach  them  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  faith. 

After  the  mission  of  Cardinal  Nicholas  was  over,  the 
smouldering  antagonism  between  the  three  kings  of 
Norway  broke  into  a  flame,  and  once  more  civil  war  began. 
The  two  brothers,  Eystein  and  Sigurd,  had  no  love  for  each 
other,  but — probably  from  feelings  of  jealousy  towards  their 
brother,  whose  kindly  nature  had  won  the  love  of  the  great 
cardinal — they  decided  to  join  in  an  attempt  to  exclude 
him  from  his  share  in  the  kingdom,  on  the  ground  that  his 
feeble  health  rendered  him  unfit  to  rule.  Inge  had,  how- 
ever, a  strong  following  in  the  land,  led  by  Gregorius 
Dagss0n,  of  Bratsberg,  and  the  famous  Erling  Skakke,  of 
St0dle,  in  S0ndhordland.  Civil  war  raged  again,  and  in 
1155  Sigurd  was  killed  in  battle  at  Bergen,  and  Eystein, 
in  1157,  met  the  same  fate  at  Viken.  Inge  was  thus  left 
the  sole  king,  though  the  opposite  faction  took  Sigurd's  son, 
Haakon  Herdebred,  and  made  him  king  in  Nidaros  (1159), 
though  little  progress  was  made  in  his  cause  as  long  as 
Dagss0n  lived  to  champion  the  side  of  Inge.  In  1161, 
however,  Gregorius  Dagss0n  was  slain,  and  a  few  weeks 
later  Inge  was  also  killed  in  a  battle  fought  on  the  ice  at 
Oslo,  on  the  3rd  of  February  in  the  same  year. 


MAGNUS  EELINaSS0N.  145 

There  was  no  king  now  left  to  contest  the  throne 
with  Haakon  Herdebred,  and  it  might  have  been  thought 
that  peace  would  have  been  restored  to  the  distracted  land. 
This,  however,  was  not  to  be.  The  great  chief  Erling 
Skakke  was  determined  to  try  and  secure  the  royal 
authority  to  one  of  his  own  family.  He  had  married  a 
daughter  of  Sigurd  Jorsalfarer,  and  by  her  he  had  a  son 
named  Magnus,  who  at  this  time  was  but  a  child  of  five 
years  old.  It  was  quite  an  unheard-of  thing  that  any  one 
should  lay  claim  to  the  throne  by  right  of  his  mother ;  and 
all  the  previous  kings — even  those  whose  paternity  was, 
to  say  the  least,  doubtful,  like  Harald  Gille  and  Sigurd 
Slembe — never  ventured  on  such  a  step.  There  were  many 
who  might  have  traced  a  direct  descent,  through  females, 
from  the  great  Haarfagre,  but  none  had  ever  claimed  the 
throne  on  such  grounds. 

Erlingj  however,  decided  on  making  an  effort  on  behalf 
of  the  youthful  Magnus,  relying  on  his  own  great  popu- 
larity and  power,  and  also  on  the  fact  that  Magnus  was  the 
grandson  of  the  great  Crusader,  and,  it  might  be  hoped,  that 
one  so  nearly  related  to  him,  would  bring  back  again  the 
long-lost  prosperity  which  the  land  had  enjoyed  in  the 
reign  of  Sigurd.  A  few  months  after  the  death  of  Inge, 
Erling  had  Magnus  chosen  as  king,  at  a  Thing  held  in 
Bergen.  Thus  again  there  were  two  kings  —  Haakon 
now  accepted  in  Tr0ndelagen  as  sovereign  of  the  whole 
country,  formerly  only  of  his  father's  share,  and  Magnus 
also  claiming  the  entire  land. 

Erling  sought  help  from  Denmark,  on  his  son's  behalf, 
and  promised  to  hand  over  once  more  to  the  Danish  king's 
authority,  the  old  district  of  Viken.  Then  he  returned  to 
Norway,  and  shortly  after,  in  1162,  defeated  and  slew 
Haakon  Herdebred  in  a  sea-fight  in  the  Romsdals  Fjord ;  and 
now  there  seemed  to  be  no  rival  to  his  son's  throne.  After 
the  battle  Erling  sailed  on  to  Nidaros,  and  at  a  Thing 

O.S.N.  L 


146  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

held   there    extracted   a   rather  unwilling   acceptance   of 
Magnus  as  king  of  Norway. 

We  now  come  to  a  period  in  the  history  of  Norway, 
when  the  Church  (the  foundation  of  whose  power  had 
been  so  carefully  laid  by  the  famous  cardinal)  was  about 
to  enter  upon  a  long  conflict  with  the  State,  which  con- 
tinued with  varying  fortunes  for  over  one  hundred  years. 
It  was  but  an  incident  in  the  great  struggle  which  was 
experienced  in  almost  every  country  of  Europe,  and  in 
which  the  greatest  of  the  Hohenstaufen  Kaisers  had  to 
bend  before  the  imperious  pontiff,  and  the  great  Plan- 
tagenet  to  humble  himself  at  the  tomb  of  his  martyred 
prelate. 

The  preliminary  victory  of  the  ecclesiastical  over  the 
civil  power  in  Norway  was,  however,  a  much  easier  one 
than  that  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Church  in  other  lands, 
and  was  the  result  of  a  bargain  between  an  ambitious 
chief,  on  behalf  of  a  child  king,  and  an  ecclesiastic  of  the 
highest  rank  in  power  and  wisdom. 

Jon  Byrgess0n,  who  had  been  invested  with  the  dignity 
of  a  metropolitan  by  Cardinal  Nicholas,  only  lived  for  a  few 
years  after  his  translation  to  Nidaros,  and  died  in  the  year 
1157.  Not  much  about  him  is  known,  but  he  seems  to 
have  been  a  kindly  and  tolerant  archbishop.  Inge  was,  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  the  sole  king,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
newly-made  agreement  that  the  chapters  were  to  have  the 
choice  of  the  bishops,  he  nominated  as  archbishop  his 
chaplain  and  chancellor,  Ey stein  Erlendss0n,  a  man  who 
belonged  to  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  influential  families 
in  Tr0ndelagen,  and  who  was  related  to  the  royal  line  of 
Norway. 

Ey  stein  was,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  man  in  the 
long  list  of  the  archbishops  of  Nidaros.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  power  and  ability;  learned,  pious,  eloquent,  and 
possessed  of  an  iron  will  which  would  brook  no  resistance  ; 


ARCHBISHOP   EYSTEIN.  147 

he  was  filled  with  the  loftiest  ideas  as  to  the  power  and 
authority  of  the  Church.  In  some  points  he  resembled  his 
great  contemporary  Thomas  a  Becket,  though  he  had  not 
to  climb  from  low  estate  to  the  highest  office  in  the  Church 
of  his  native  land.  Eystein  was  the  equal  or  superior  in 
birth,  to  most  of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  nor 
had  he  to  serve  a  master  so  strong  and  powerful  as  the 
English  Henry  II.  He  escaped  the  martyrdom  which  fell 
to  the  lot  of  the  great  prelate  of  Canterbury,  but  he  had  to 
endure,  at  any  rate,  three  years  of  exile  from  the  Church 
over  which  he  had  been  called  to  rule.  Though  he  was 
nominated  as  archbishop  by  the  king  in  1157,  he  was  not 
consecrated  in  that  year,  and  he  seems  to  have  spent  some 
time  in  wisely  endeavouring  to  conciliate  his  cathedral 
chapter,  and  to  make  them  acquiesce  in  the  manner  of  his 
selection.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  reached  Italy 
until  1159 — the  same  year,  and  about  the  same  time,  as 
Adrian  IV.  (Cardinal  Nicholas  Breakspeare)  died. 

The  death  of  Adrian  IV.  was  followed,  as  is  known,  by 
the  choice  of  two  popes,  Alexander  III.  and  Victor  IV. 
The  struggle  between  the  two,  does  not  concern  us  here, 
but  Eystein  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  one  who  eventually 
triumphed,  Alexander  III.,  and  was  by  him  consecrated 
and  received  the  pallium  (probably  in  France)  in  the  year 
1161.  He  returned  to  Norway  at  once,  to  find  his  friend 
and  patron  Inge,  slain  in  the  battle  at  Oslo,  and  Erling 
Skakke,  on  behalf  of  his  son  Magnus,  contesting  the 
kingdom  with  Haakon  Herdebred. 

On  his  arrival  at  Nidaros  he  probably  saw  that  the 
time  was  ripe  for  asserting  the  claims  of  the  Church,  and 
for  putting  into  practice  the  lessons  which  had  doubtless 
been  impressed  upon  him  by  the  haughty  Pope  Alexander 
III.  In  order  to  strengthen  himself  for  the  fray,  he 
decided  that  the  first  step  to  be  taken  was  to  increase  the 
revenues  of  his  see.  These  were,  as  we  know,  very  largely 

L2 


148  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

augmented  by  the  fines  (sag0re  or  b0der),  which  were 
levied  and  sanctioned  by  the  State,  for  breaches  of 
ecclesiastical  discipline  under  the  Kristenret.  The  arch- 
bishop set  to  work  with  great  astuteness  to  accomplish 
this.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Frosta  Thing  he  put  it  to  the 
people,  that  they  had  now  received  the  great  honour  of 
having  a  metropolitan  and  archbishop  in  Nidaros,  and 
that  if  they  were  to  enjoy  so  great  an  honour  and  dignity 
above  all  the  other  dioceses  of  Norway,  they  must  be 
ready  on  their  part,  to  provide  a  suitable  income  for  the 
see.  The  b0nder,  much  as  they  might  appreciate  the 
honour  of  belonging  to  the  archiepiscopal  diocese,  were  not 
enthusiastic  over  the  suggestion,  which  would  entail  the 
payment  of  a  larger  sum  in  fines  than  had  hitherto 
been  levied  on  them ;  but  the  great  local  influence  of 
Eystein  and  his  persuasive  eloquence,  induced  them  to 
assent  to  the  archbishop's  proposal.  What  Eystein  carried 
through  was  a  very  simple  and  effective  reform.  The  fines 
had  been  customarily  paid  according  to  an  old  standard 
of  coinage  called  the  Iag0re,  which  was  worth  only  one 
half  of  the  current  silver,  coinage  or  s0lv0re.  The  Thing 
agreed  that  in  future  the  fines  should  be  paid  in  s0lv0re, 
and  thus  the  archbishop  by  a  single  stroke,  exactly  doubled 
his  income  derived  from  this  important  source. 

The  opportunity  which  Eystein  looked  for,  of  asserting 
the  power  of  the  Church  soon  came.  In  1162  Erling 
Skakke,  after  having  vanquished  and  slain  Haakon 
Herdebred  in  the  battle  fought  off  the  island  of  Sekken, 
in  the  Romsdals  Fjord,  arrived  at  Nidaros,  where  he 
procured  the  recognition  of  Magnus  as  king  of  the  whole 
of  Norway. 

Erling  was  far  too  wise  a  man  not  to  recognize  at  once 
what  a  powerful  prelate  now  reigned  at  Nidaros,  and  how 
important  it  was  for  him  to  secure  to  his  side  the  growing 
power  of  the  Church.  He  saw  plainly  enough  that  his 


ERLING  AND  EYSTEIN.  149 

son's  title  to  the  crown  was  a  defective  one,  and  rested 
entirely  on  descent  in  the  female  line  from  the  royal  race 
of  Haarfagre,  which  was  contrary  to  the  law  and  custom 
of  the  whole  land,  which  so  strongly  insisted  on  descent 
in  the  male  line,  that  even  illegitimacy  was  no  bar  to  the 
succession. 

Erling  therefore  felt  that  if  the  legal  title  of  Magnus 
was  defective,  he  must  support  it  by  the  power  and 
authority  of  the  Church,  to  gain  which,  of  course,  he 
must  be  prepared  to  make  concessions  to  the  Archbishop 
and  bishops.  In  Eystein,  Erling  saw  the  very  man  for 
his  purpose,  and  he  felt  sure  that  if  he  could  win  him  over, 
his  son's  claim  would  be  firmly  established. 

With  this  end  in  view,  he  seems  to  have  held  several 
secret  conferences  with  the  archbishop  during  the  time  he 
was  in  Nidaros.  He  began  with  the  crafty  suggestion 
that  if  the  archbishop  had  got  his  income  practically 
doubled,  it  was  only  fair  that  the  king  should  have  the 
same  advantage,  many  of  the  fines  being  divided  between 
the  king  and  the  bishop,  and  further  that  the  action  of 
the  archbishop  was  at  variance  with  the  Kristenret  of 
St.  Olaf.  The  archbishop,  however,  had  a  ready  answer 
to  this,  as  he  at  once  pointed  out  that  what  he  had  done, 
was  done  in  a  perfectly  legal  manner  by  the  Thing,  and 
that,  on  the  other  hand,  Magnus  had  himself  no  legal  right 
whatsoever  to  the  crown  of  Norway. 

Erling  saw  at  once  the  force  of  this  argument,  and 
suggested  that  instead  of  disputing,  it  would  be  much  the 
wisest  thing  for  him  and  the  archbishop  to  come  to  terms. 
Finally  it  was  agreed  that,  in  return  for  the  support  of 
Erling  and  his  son  in  the  furtherance  of  the  claims  of  the 
Church,  the  archbishop  and  bishops  should  give  the 
sanction  of  "  God's  law  "*  to  supply  the  defect  in  title  of 

*  The  Kristenret  was  usually  known  as  "  God's  law,"  in  distinction 
from  the  civil  law,  or  the  "  land  law." 


150  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

the  king  according  to  the  "  land  law,"  and  that  this  was 
to  be  done  by  the  archbishop  crowning  and  anointing  the 
young  king. 

How  long  exactly  the  negotiations  lasted  is  not  clear, 
but  it  was  not  until  the  summer  of  1164  that  the  corona- 
tion took  place.  The  archbishop  was  probably  waiting  to 
make  sure  of  his  terms,  and  also  to  see  whether  anything 
was  likely  to  arise  which  might  upset  the  plans  of  Erling. 
In  1163  a  papal  legate,  Stephen,  came  to  Norway  (for 
what  purpose  it  does  not  appear),  and  the  presence  of  the 
legate,  seemed  to  Eystein  to  be  the  best  opportunity  for  a 
great  display  of  the  power  of  the  Church.  Accordingly,  in 
1164  a  great  rigsmfide,  or  parliament,  was  called  to  meet 
in  Bergen  in  the  summer,  and  at  the  same  time  the  arch- 
bishop gathered  around  him  all  his  suffragans  in  Norway, 
and  one  (the  bishop  of  Hole)  from  Iceland,  and  the  heads 
of  the  religious  houses.  With  great  ceremony,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  legate,  and  all  the  chiefs  and  bishops,  young 
Magnus  was  solemnly  anointed  and  crowned  king  in 
Christ  Church,  the  cathedral  of  Bergen,  and  invested  by 
the  archbishop  with  all  the  insignia  of  royalty. 

This  was  the  first  king  who  had  been  crowned  in 
Norway,  and  the  ceremony  was  an  entirely  new  departure 
in  the  land.  The  older  monarchs  needed  only  the  choice 
by  the  b0nder  and  chiefs,  in  the  ancient  assembly  of  the 
Thing,  but  now  it  became  apparent  to  all  men  that  a  new 
order  had  come  into  being,  and  that  the  head  of  the 
Norwegian  nation  was  no  longer  to  be  only  the  chosen  of 
the  people,  but  also  "  the  Lord's  anointed/'  and  invested 
with  a  semi- ecclesiastical  power  from  the  hands  of  the 
archbishop.  The  very  placing  of  the  crown  on  the  king's 
head  by  the  prelate,  was  in  itself  a  proof  that  the  monarch 
derived  his  authority,  not  only  from  the  people,  but  from 
the  Church  as  well. 

Thus  publicly  the  Church  proclaimed  her  power,  and 


MAGNUS  ERLINGSS0N  AND  EYSTEIN.  151 

showed  what  a  change  had  come  from  the  time  when  the 
bishops,  like  Sigurd  and  Grimkell  of  the  days  of  the  two 
Olafs,  were  content  to  be  members  of  the  royal  household 
and  to  accompany  the  kings  in  their  journeys  through 
the  land. 

It  was  not  all  at  once  that  the  terms  of  the  compact 
between  the  Church,  as  represented  by  Eystein,  and 
Erling,  as  the  guardian  of  the  young  king,  became  known. 
It  is  most  probable  that,  had  the  people  generally  become 
aware  of  them  at  the  time,  a  flood  of  national  anger 
would  have  swept  away  the  young  king  and  his  crafty 
father.  It  was  only  little  by  little  that  they  became 
known  and  were  tolerated.  We  are  told  that  the  con- 
ditions respecting  the  Church's  prerogatives,  were  embodied 
in  a  letter  written  later  on  by  Magnus,  when  he  came  of 
age,  to  Archbishop  Eystein1*;  but  this  has  been  regarded  by 
many  as  unauthentic,  though  in  one  very  important 
particular  the  truth  of  the  conditions  is  confirmed  in  the 
laws  of  the  Gula  Thing,  which  are  undoubtedly  authentic, 
and  in  which  are  set  forth  clearly  the  changes  that  had 
been  made  with  regard  to  the  succession  to  the  crown. 

The  compact  between  Magnus  (or  more  properly 
speaking  his  father,  Erling)  and  the  archbishop  was  of  a 
kind  which,  if  fully  carried  out,  would  effect  a  complete 
revolution  in  the  constitution  of  Norway.  The  principal 
points  were  as  follows  : — 

The  king  undertook  to  surrender  his  kingdom  to  God 
and  St.  Olaf,  and  to  hold  the  kingdom  as  the  vicar  and 
vassal  of  the  saint.  As  a  sign  and  token  of  this,  at  every 
king's  death  his  crown  was  to  be  offered  on  the  altar  in 
Nidaros,  and  the  new  monarch  to  receive  it  there.  Norway 
was  to  be  a  fief  held  from  St.  Olaf,  who  was  to  be  the  real 
but  invisible  king. 

*  This  letter  will  be  found  in  Latin,  in  Norges  Gamle  Love,  I., 
p.  442. 


152  CHURCH   AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

The  election  of  bishops  and  the  appointment  to  parishes 
was  to  be  entirely  free  from  royal  control. 

The  special  privileges  of  the  metropolitan  see  were  fully 
confirmed. 

There  were  other  clauses  which  provided  for  the  protec- 
tion of  all  pilgrims  to  the  shrine  of  St.  Olaf,  and  severe 
laws  were  to  be  enforced  against  sacrilege. 

It  will  at  once  be  seen,  that  the  first  of  these  condi- 
tions meant  nothing  else  but  the  complete  ascendency  of 
the  Church  over  the  crown,  and  making  the  archbishop 
the  real  ruler  of  the  land.  Nothing  could  more  clearly 
have  set  forth  the  claims  which  the  papacy  at  this  very 
time  laid  down  for  the  kings  of  Europe,  and  which  were 
so  vigorously  resisted  by  the  kaiser  and  others.  But 
perhaps  more  important  still,  were  the  changes  which 
were  introduced  into  the  law  respecting  the  succession  to 
the  crown. 

On  the  death  of  a  king,  his  successor  was  to  be  his  eldest 
legitimate  son,  unless  he  was  considered  ineligible  from 
insanity  or  wickedness.  In  that  case  another  brother  was 
to  be  selected  by  the  archbishop,  the  bishops,  and  twelve 
men  from  each  diocese  nominated  by  the  bishop.  If  it 
should  happen  that  the  deceased  monarch  left  no  legitimate 
son,  then  the  next-of-kin  was  to  be  selected  by  the  same 
authority.  In  case  of  the  choice  failing  to  be  unanimous, 
the  candidate  of  the  majority  was  to  be  king,  provided  the 
bishops  were  a  part  of  that  majority. 

On  the  death  of  a  king,  the  bishops,  and  the  twelve  episcopal 
nominees  from  each  diocese,  were  to  assemble  at  the  shrine 
of  St.  Olaf  within  one  mouth,  to  confer  with  the  archbishop 
respecting  the  succession,  and  the  late  king's  crown  was  to 
be  offered  upon  the  altar.  These  terms,  of  course,  meant 
that  the  ancient  right  of  the  people  of  Norway  to  choose 
their  king,  was  to  be  entirely  swept  away  and  transferred  to 
five  episcopal  electors. 


MAGNUS  ERLINGSS0N  AND   EYSTEIN.  153 

There  was  certainly  one  point  in  the  new  proposals  which 
commends  itself — namely,  the  restriction  of  the  succession 
to  the  crown,  to  the  legitimate  issue  of  the  king  ;  the  old 
law  which  made  illegitimacy  no  bar  to  the  succession  left 
the  door  open  to  impostors,  and  was  the  cause  of  many  of 
the  troubles  which  arose  after  the  death  of  Sigurd  Jor- 
salfarer.  The  assertion  of  the  right  of  primogeniture  was 
also  a  novel  one,  for  although  it  usually  happened  that  the 
eldest  son  was  chosen,  it  was  by  no  means  the  invariable 
or  legal  rule,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  several  instances. 

Such  were  the  terms  of  the  compact  between  the  arch- 
bishop and  Magnus,  and  which  the  latter  is  said  to  have 
put  in  writing  in  a  letter  to  Eystein  when  on  Easter  day, 
1174,  he  offered  his  crown  upon  the  altar  in  Nidaros. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected,  that  such  a  revolution 
would  be  quietly  accepted  in  Norway,  and  we  shall  see  it 
was  the  commencement  of  a  fierce  struggle  which  lasted 
many  years,  and  in  the  course  of  which  the  nation  was 
divided  into  two  hostile  camps — the  Church  and  her  nominee 
striving  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  compact  between  Magnus 
and  Eystein,  and  the  chosen  of  the  people,  in  the  person  of 
perhaps  in  one  way  the  greatest  king  that  Norway  ever 
saw,  Sverre  Sigurdss0n,  resisting  to  the  uttermost  her  claim 
to  set  aside  the  ancient  constitution  of  the  land. 

We  must  now  turn  again  to  the  history  of  the  reign  of 
Magnus.  The  years  which  succeeded  the  famous  coronation 
were  more  or  less  disturbed  by  various  attempts,  made  by 
the  enemies  of  Magnus  and  Erling,  to  raise  the  standard  of 
rebellion,  but  these  were  suppressed.  The  young  king  was 
of  a  kindly  and  generous  disposition,  and  seems  to  have  in- 
herited many  of  the  good  qualities  of  his  famous  grandfather, 
and  possibly  he  might  have  brought  about  a  time  of  peaceful 
progress  in  Norway.  But  very  shortly  after  he  came  of 
age  and  took  the  government  into  his  own  hands,  a  storm 
arose  which  finally  swept  him  away  and  brought  back  the 


154  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

crown  to  the  male  line  of  Harald  Haarfagre.  This  was  the 
rise  of  the  famous  party  of  the  Birkebeiner,  to  which  we 
must  now  turn. 

The  severities  with  which  Erling  had  crushed  out  all 
resistance  to  his  son's  rule,  had  produced  much  discontent, 
and  a  number  of  men,  mostly  young,  who  had  been  driven 
from  their  homes,  gradually  gathered  themselves  together 
into  a  band.  They  were  found  mostly  in  Viken,  where  they 
lived  in  the  woods  and  on  the  mountains,  where  they  had 
to  take  refuge  after  their  occasional  forays  on  the  b0nder. 
They  were  a  very  ragged  and  unkempt  body  of  men,  and 
when  their  clothing  failed  them  they  bound  round  their 
legs  and  on  their  feet  the  birch  bark,  from  whence  they  got 
the  name  of  Birkebeiner,  or  birch  ]egs,  and  long  afterwards 
the  name  was  retained  and  held  in  honour  by  the  defenders 
of  the  ancient  rights  of  Norway,  against  the  encroachments 
of  the  hierarchy.* 

About  the  year  1174  they  took  as  their  chief  a  young 
man  named  Eystein,  said  to  be  a  son  of  King  Ey stein, 
Inge's  brother.  He  was  generally  known  as  Eystein  M0ila, 
the  surname  being  probably  given  in  derision,  as  it  means 
the  "  little  girl."  With  him  they  ranged  over  the  land, 
not  daring  openly  to  attack  Magnus;  but  in  1177  they 
managed  to  procure  some  ships,  and  determined  on  an 
audacious  stroke.  They  came  quite  unexpectedly  on 
Nidaros  and  captured  the  town.  Then,  as  they  found  there 
was  much  discontent  among  the  people,  they  gathered  a 
Thing  and  proclaimed  Eystein  as  king.  They  had,  however, 
soon  to  retreat  to  Viken,  whither  the  young  king  Magnus 
followed  them  and  defeated  them  in  a  battle  fought  at  Ke, 
near  T0nsberg,  where  Eystein  M0ila  was  slain  and  his  party 
scattered,  f 

*  Compare  the  name  Tory  in  English  politics, 
t  This  is  the  last  historical  event  mentioned  by  Snorre,  and  concludes 
the  Heimskringla. 


MAGNUS  ERLINGSS0N.  155 

It  seemed  now  as  if  the  rule  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n  was 
firmly  established  in  the  land,  and  that  an  end  had  come, 
at  least  for  a  time,  to  internal  strife,  as  there  was  no  one  to 
dispute  his  title  to  the  throne.  The  remains  of  the  Birke- 
beiner  force  sought  refuge  in  Vermland  with  Cecilia,  the 
daughter  of  Sigurd  Mund  (whom  Erling  had  forced,  against 
her  will,  into  a  marriage  with  Folkvid,  a  Swede),  and  ap- 
peared impotent  for  harm. 

But  Magnus  was  not  to  reign  unchallenged.  The  Birke- 
beiner  found  a  new  leader  in  the  great  man  to  whose 
extraordinary  history  we  must  now  turn — the  priest  from 
the  Fseroe  Islands,  Sverre  Sigurdss0n. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SVERRE,  AND  THE  GREAT   STRUGGLE  WITH 
THE  CHURCH. 

Sverre's  Early  Days  —  Comes  to  Norway  —  Forced  to  Lead  the 
Birkebeiner — His  Extraordinary  Adventures — Defeats  and  Slays 
Magnus  Erlingss0n,  1184— Sverre  undisputed  King — The  Conflict 
with  Archbishop  Eystein — His  Flight  to  England — Return  and 
Death — Eystein 's  two  Great  Works — Sverre  and  Archbishop  Erik 
— Sverre's  Kristenret — The  Points  in  Dispute  between  Erik  and 
Sverre — Erik  Flies  from  Norway — Sverre  Excommunicated — 
Bishop  Nicholas  of  Oslo — Sverre's  Coronation — Bishop  Nicholas 
Flies  to  Denmark — The  Formation  of  the  Bagler  Party— Civil 
War — Innocent  III.  places  Norway  under  an  Interdict — Its  Effect 
not  great  in  Norway — Sverre's  Apologia — Sverre  takes  T0nsberg, 
1202— His  Illness  and  Death  in  Bergen— His  Character. 

THE  personality  of  Sverre  Sigurdss0n  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  striking  which  we  meet  in  the  history  of  Norway. 
He  was  the  illegitimate  son  of  Sigurd  Mund,  in  whose 
household  his  mother,  Gunhild,  had  been  a  servant.  The 
date  of  his  birth  is  placed  at  1151,  the  year  before  the  visit 
of  Cardinal  Nicholas.  Whether  the  future  king  first  saw 
the  light  in  Norway  or  the  Faeroe  Islands  is  doubtful,  but 
it  is  certain  that  his  early  days  were  spent  in  the  latter 
place. 

His  mother,  Gunhild,  married  a  man  named  Unas,  who 
was  brother  to  Bishop  Roe,  the  prelate  of  these  islands. 
Here  Sverre  grew  up,  passing  as  the  son  of  Unas,  and  his 
quickness  and  intelligence  attracted  the  attention  of  his 
supposed  uncle,  the  bishop,  who,  as  he  was  in  need  of  native 
clergy,  had  him  educated  for  the  Church's  service,  and 
having  passed  through  the  minor  orders,  he  was  finally 
ordained  priest  about  the  year  1174  or  1175. 


SVERRE,  AND  THE  STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  CHURCH.    157 

Very  soon  after  this,  his  mother  revealed  to  him  the 
secret  of  his  paternity,  and  thus  changed  the  whole  current 
of  his  life.  "  If  I  am  born  to  a  crown  "  (said  the  young 
priest),  "  then  shall  I  strive  to  win  it,  cost  what  it  may,  for 
without  it  life  has  no  value  for  me."  Sverre  knew  full 
well  that  illegitimacy  was  no  bar  to  his  claim,  and  that  he 
alone,  according  to  the  old  law  of  Norway,  was  the 
rightful  king.  He  quickly  made  up  his  mind  to  claim 
what  he  knew  to  be  his  lawful  inheritance,  but  he  was  not 
the  man  to  do  anything  rashly  or  to  endanger  his  chances 
of  success  by  any  premature  move.  Armed  with  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  Bishop  Eoe,  to  the  great  Archbishop 
Eystein,  he  went  to  Norway  in  order  to  see  for  himself  the 
position  of  affairs,  but  determining  for  the  present  to 
conceal  his  identity.  Arrived  in  the  country,  he  saw  at 
once  that  the  power  of  Magnus  and  Erling  was  too  great  to 
be  easily  shaken,  and  that  it  would  be  quite  useless  to  make 
known  his  claim  or  to  present  his  letter  to  the  archbishop. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  going  to  Nidaros,  he  made  his  way  to 
Vermland,  to  the  house  of  his  sister  Cecilia,  who  received 
him  as  her  brother  and  made  him  welcome. 

This  was  in  the  year  1177,  shortly  after  the  battle  at  Ke, 
near  T0nsberg,  where  Magnus  had  crushed  the  Birkebeiner 
and  slain  their  chief  Eystein  M0ila.  The  remnants  of  this 
faction  had  taken  refuge  with  Cecilia,  and  they  at  once 
recognized  in  Sverre  the  very  chief  they  wanted — namely,  a 
descendant  of  Harald  Haarfagre  in  the  male  line.  The 
prudent  Sverre,  however,  was  very  unwilling  to  have  the 
leadership  of  this  handful  of  defeated  men  thrust  upon  him, 
but  the  Birkebeiners  would  brook  no  refusal,  and  insisted 
on  his  becoming  their  chief.  Seeing  there  was  no  help  for 
it,  he  reluctantly  agreed  to  their  proposal,  and  taking  his 
courage  a  deux  mains,  embarked  on  what  appeared  to  be 
a  forlorn  hope.  At  Easter  he  started  northwards  with  his 
small  band,  having  obtained  what  help  he  could  from  his 


158  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

sister.  He  did  not  dare  to  go  through  the  frequented  parts 
of  the  country,  but  made  his  way  through  the  forests, 
enduring  terrible  hardships  from  the  fierce  cold  of  the 
winter.  Having  established  himself  in  Jaemtland,  where 
he  gathered  around  him  a  considerable  body  of  men,  he 
determined  on  a  bold  stroke.  Moving  into  Tr0ndelagen  he 
encamped  for  a  time  on  an  island  in  the  Selbusj0,  not  far 
from  Nidaros.  Shortly  after,  with  that  wonderful  good 
luck  which  seldom  deserted  him,  he  suddenly  attacked  and 
captured  the  town,  and,  calling  a  Thing,  was  proclaimed 
king  by  the  b0nder.  The  Tr0nder  were  always  well 
disposed  towards  him,  and  it  was  only  the  armed  power  of 
Erling  which  had  forced  them  into  submission  to  Magnus's 
claim. 

Notwithstanding  his  unexpected  stroke  of  good  fortune 
in  the  capture  of  the  town,  Sverre  at  once  saw  that  he  was 
not  yet  able  to  meet  Magnus  and  Erling  in  the  field,  and 
on  their  approach  with  an  army  to  recapture  Nidaros,  he  at 
once  evacuated  the  town  and  betook  himself  to  the  south. 

The  next  two  years  Sverre  went  through  a  series  of 
extraordinary  adventures  whilst  he  carried  on  a  guerilla 
war  against  Magnus.  Often  reduced  to  the  greatest 
extremities,  and  over  and  over  again  almost  captured,  he 
always  managed  to  extricate  himself  and  to  astonish  his 
foes,  by  appearing  unexpectedly  in  places  where  they  least 
looked  for  him.  Through  the  wildest  mountain  districts  of 
the  west  of  Norway,  Sverre  and  his  men  roamed,  and  to 
the  present  day  the  memory  of  his  journeys  is  preserved  in 
such  names  as  Sverre's  Skar  and  Sverre's  Stigen,  passes 
and  paths  over  which  a  goat  could  scarcely  travel,  but  by 
which  Sverre  and  his  men  escaped  from  the  hands  of  their 
enemies. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  spent  in  this  way,  Sverre  felt 
himself  strong  enough  to  take  the  field  against  Magnus  and 
Erling,  and  moving  north  again  descended  on  Nidaros  and 


SVERRE,  AND  THE  STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  CHURCH.    159 

defeated  and  slew  Erling  Skakke  in  a  battle  at  Kalvskindet, 
near  the  town.  The  death  of  the  great  chief  was  a  severe 
blow  to  the  power  of  Magnus,  but  Archbishop  System  did 
his  best  to  encourage  him  and  to  rally  the  forces  against 
Sverre,  The  next  year,  however,  1180,  a  decisive  battle 
was  fought,  again  near  Nidaros,  at  Ilevolden,  in  which 
Magnus  was  totally  defeated  and  obliged  to  fly  to 
Denmark.  The  archbishop  also  took  refuge  in  flight  and 
went  to  England,  whence  he  issued  a  sentence  of  ex- 
communication against  the  now  victorious  and  openly 
acknowledged  king,  Sverre — the  first  time  this  great  weapon 
of  the  Church  had  been  directed  against  a  king  of 
Norway. 

The  struggle  against  Magnus  was  not  yet,  however,  at  an 
end.  He  found  support  in  Denmark  and  returned  again  to 
Norway,  and  the  war  was  resumed  and  lasted  for  some 
time.  Again,  however,  Magnus  was  obliged  to  fly  to 
Denmark  in  1183.  The  year  following  he  made  one  more 
effort  to  wrest  the  kingdom  from  Sverre,  and  this  time  he 
very  nearly  succeeded.  Sverre  was  in  the  Sogne  Fjord 
with  a  small  fleet  and  engaged  in  punishing  the  Sogninger 
for  their  share  in  the  resistance  to  his  power.  He  had 
sailed  up  the  narrow  Sogndals  Fjord,  when  Magnus,  with  a 
fleet  which  much  outnumbered  his  opponents',  came  from 
Bergen,  and  caught  the  redoubtable  Sverre  in  a  trap  from 
which  there  was  no  escape.  A  fierce  battle  ensued  at  Nore, 
the  narrowest  part  of  the  fjord,  and  in  spite  of  his  vastly 
superior  force,  Magnus  was  utterly  defeated  and  slain,  and 
now  Sverre  was  undisputed  lord  of  Norway. 

We  must  now  turn  back  to  Sverre 's  other  great 
antagonist,  the  archbishop.  The  excommunication  which 
he  had  issued  from  England  against  the  king  on  his 
arrival  in  that  country,  does  not  seem  to  have  had  the  effect 
of  injuring  Sverre.  Indeed,  it  seems  probable  it  was  but 
little  known  in  Norway,  and  was  certainly  unheeded.  The 


160  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

archbishop  and  the  clergy  generally  had  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  struggle,  done  their  very  utmost  to  inflame  the 
minds  of  the  people  against  Sverre.  He  was  described  as 
a  "  recreant  priest/'  a  deceiver,  a  godless  sorcerer,  who 
owed  his  good  fortune  to  the  devil ;  and  they  promised  to 
those  who  fell  in  combat  against  him  an  entrance  into 
paradise  "  before  their  blood  should  be  cold  upon  the  earth." 
The  archbishop  spent  three  years  of  exile  in  England,  where 
he  represented  his  antagonist  in  a  very  unfavourable  light, 
to  judge  by  the  remarks  of  some  of  his  English  con- 
temporaries.^ 

Ey stein,  with  all  his  hostility  to  King  Sverre,  was  a 
very  prudent  man,  and  when  he  saw  that  there  was  no 
doubt  that  the  latter  would  finally  win  in  the  struggle, 
he  made  peace  with  the  king  in  Bergen,  and  removed  the 
ban,  and  in  1183  (the  year  before  the  defeat  and  death  of 
Magnus)  he  returned  again  to  his  see. 

From  that  time  on  until  his  death,  five  years  later,  he 
seems  to  have  had  enough  of  the  strife,  and  to  have 
devoted  himself  with  great  assiduity  to  the  care  of  his 

*  During  Archbishop  Eystein's  three  years'  stay  in  England  he 
spent  a  part  of  his  time  at  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  and  seems  to  have  been 
there  during  the  famous  election  of  Abbot  Samson,  of  which  Jocelin  de 
Brakelond  tells  us  in  his  chronicle. — See  Metcalfe's  Introduction  to 
"Passio  et  Miracula  Beati  Olaui,"  p.  52. 

William,  of  Newbury,  Book  III.,  Chap,  vi.,  says :  "  In  1180,  Eystein, 
archbishop  of  Trondhjem,  refusing  to  crown  Sverre,  a  successful  rebel, 
who  had  defeated  Magnus,  king  of  Norway,  was  driven  into  exile  and 
came  to  England."  William  further  describes  Sverre  as  "  famosissimus 
ille  presbyter,"  who  "  tempore  non  modico  sub  tyranni  nomine  de- 
bacchatus."  He  also  calls  him  "  execrandus"  and  "  nefandus  presbyter," 
"  ilia  virga  furoris  Domini." 

The  same  writer,  however,  in  spite  of  the  above  very  choice  con- 
troversial epithets,  adds  later  on,  that  the  inscription  on  his  seal  was 
"Sverus  Rex  Magnus,  ferus  ut  leo,  mitis  ut  agnus,"  inasmuch  as  he 
showed  clemency  to  those  whom  he  had  subdued  and  showed  reverence 
to  churches  and  monasteries. 


ARCHBISHOP   EYSTEIN'S  LEGISLATION.  161 

diocese,  and  did  much  to  atone  for  his  share  in  the 
desolating  strife  of  the  previous  years,  in  which,  however, 
his  actions  seem  to  have  been  based  on  worthy  motives, 
and  not  on  the  lower  ones  of  self-interest  and  aggrandise- 
ment. In  addition  to  the  important  part  which  he  played 
in  connection  with  the  advancement  of  the  power  of  the 
Church  under  Magnus,  the  great  archbishop  must  ever  be 
remembered  for  his  work  as  a  legislator,  and  as  a  cathedral 
builder. 

The  closing  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  a  careful 
revision  of  the  Frosta  Thing's  law,  both  on  its  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  side.  In  the  disorders  of  the  preceding 
generation,  many  of  the  older  provisions  of  the  law  had 
been  neglected.  These  were  again  enforced,  and  every 
effort  was  made  to  secure  the  reign  of  law  and  order. 
The  peace  of  the  Thing,  which  was  such  a  prominent 
feature  of  ancient  days,  was  again  affirmed,  and  provision 
was  made  for  the  better  order  of  the  country  generally. 
The  Kristenret,  which  probably  dated  from  St.  Olaf  's  time, 
was  revised  on  the  lines  of  the  famous  agreement  with 
Magnus  Erlingss0n,  so  as  to  secure  the  privileges  of  the 
clergy  and  the  archbishop,  but  in  a  fair  and  statesmanlike 
manner.  These  laws  were  now  carefully  written  out,  and  the 
collection  was  henceforth  known  as  "  The  Golden  Feather," 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  older  compilation  of  Magnus 
the  Good,  which  was  called  "The  Grey  Goose. "*  The 
archbishop's  collection  probably  received  its  name  from  the 
fact  of  its  being  beautifully  i]luminated. 

Eystein,  who  loved  the  people  well,  endeared  himself 
further  to  them  by  procuring  from  Pope  Alexander  III.  a 
relaxation  of  the  law  with  respect  to  work  on  holy  days. 
He  well  knew  how  essential  to  the  prosperity  of  the  people 
the  harvest  of  the  sea  always  was,  and,  further,  that  it  was 
necessary  to  secure  the  herrings  whenever  they  approached 

*  See  p.  96. 
C.S.N.  M 


162  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

the  coast.  Formerly  fishing  was  forbidden  on  holy  days, 
but  the  archbishop  had  the  rule  so  far  relaxed,  as  to  permit 
the  fishing  whenever  the  herring  appeared,  save  only  on 
holy  days  of  the  highest  rank. 

To  Eystein  we  owe  also  the  beginning  of  the  great 
cathedral  of  Trondhjem.  He  felt,  not  unnaturally,  that, 
now  that  Nidaros  had  become  the  seat  of  a  metropolitan, 
it  was  only  right  that  a  cathedral  of  more  imposing  pro- 
portions should  be  erected,  than  that  which  sheltered 
the  body  of  Norway's  patron  saint.  We  have  seen  how 
two  churches  at  that  time  stood  where  the  cathedral  now 
stands.  One  was  the  Maria  Kirke,  built  by  Harald  Haard- 
raade  on  the  place  where  the  saint's  body  had  lain  for  a 
year  in  the  sand.  The  other  was  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  commonly  called  Christ  Church,  the  foundation  of 
Olaf  Kyrre,  which  was  then  the  cathedral.  In  order  to 
carry  out  his  plan  for  the  new  cathedral,  Eystein  had  the 
Maria  Kirke  taken  down,  and  the  materials  carried  across 
the  river  to  the  newly-founded  monastery  at  Elgesaeter  for 
the  Augustinians.  He  then  began  the  splendid  pile  which 
was  completed  some  fifty  years  later,  and  which  was  the 
most  magnificent  ecclesiastical  building  in  the  North,  and  a 
noble  monument  of  the  great  archbishop.* 

One  of  the  last  official  acts  of  his  life  was  to  pro- 
nounce the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  of  the  king's  sister 
Cecilia,  who  had  been  forced  by  Erling  into  a  union  with 
Folkvid,  the  Swedish  chief.  The  Church  was  the  natural 
guardian  of  the  sanctity  of  this  sacrament,  and  was  not 
inclined,  at  that  time  especially,  to  relax  the  law  of  Chris- 
tian marriage.  But  the  archbishop,  on  the  facts  coming 
into  review  before  him,  declared  Cecilia's  marriage  to  be 
null  and  void,  on  the  ground  that  she  had  acted  under 

*  About  the  same  time  the  cathedral  of  Christ  Church  in  Bergen 
was  completed,  and  the  relics  of  Sfc.  Sunniva  transferred  to  it  from  the 
island  of  Selje. 


DEATH  OF  EYSTEIN.  163 

compulsion,  and  was  not  a  consenting  party,  which  the 
law  of  the  Church  naturally  required  in  all  cases. 
After  her  marriage  had  been  declared  void,  Cecilia  married 
Baard  Guttormss0n,  of  Rein,  a  very  powerful  chief  among 
the  b0nder  of  Tr0ndelagen,  and  her  son  by  this  union,  as 
we  shall  see  later  on,  was  for  a  time  king  in  Norway. 

In  the  close  of  1187  the  archbishop  lay  dying  in 
Nidaros.  King  Sverre  was  at  that  time  in  the  city,  and 
Eystein  sent  for  him.  What  then  occurred  we  only  know 
from  Sverre's  account,  but  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  a  full  reconciliation  took  place  between  the  two  great 
men.  The  old  archbishop  would  hardly  have  wished  to 
die,  with  feelings  of  enmity  in  his  heart,  towards  the  man 
whom  he  had  so  strongly,  though  conscientiously  opposed, 
but  with  whom  he  had  lived  in  outward  agreement  in  the 
closing  years  of  his  life.  On  both  sides  there  was  much 
to  forgive ;  the  archbishop  had  denounced  Sverre  in  very 
harsh  language,  and  preferred  charges  against  him  in  the 
heat  of  the  conflict,  which  in  calmer  moments  he  must  have 
regretted  and  felt  to  be  groundless ;  Sverre  also  had  not 
been  free  from  blame  for  his  share  in  the  strife,  and  we 
must  hope  that  this  private  conference  ended,  as  it  ought 
to  have  done,  in  the  old  archbishop  giving  his  blessing  to 
the  man  whose  bitter  opponent  he  had  once  been. 

Eystein  died  on  January  26th,  1188,  and  was  buried  in 
the  sacristy  of  the  new  cathedral  which  he  had  begun.  At 
his  funeral  Sverre  made  a  speech  in  which  he  declared  that 
the  archbishop  had  admitted,  in  their  last  interview,  that 
he  was  wrong  in  the  course  he  had  taken  in  so  violently 
opposing  him.  This  statement,  of  course,  only  rested  on 
the  authority  of  the  king  himself. 

Thus  passed  away  the  famous  Archbishop  Eystein,  a 
truly  great  Churchman  and  great  man  in  every  respect, 
and  in  the  steps  which  he  took  to  advance  the  claims  of 
the  Church,  he  only  acted  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 

Ml 


164  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

his  day,  not  from  unworthy  motives  of  personal  ambition 
and  glory.  He  was  long  loved  and  reverenced  by  the 
people  and  clergy,  and  in  1229  he  was  declared  to  be  a 
saint  by  a  provincial  synod  held  at  Nidaros,  but  no  formal 
papal  canonization  seems  ever  to  have  taken  place. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Sverre,  during  the  years  in  which  he 
fought  for  the  throne,  never  specially  attacked  the  Church, 
though  its  whole  power  was  directed  against  him,  as  the 
opponent  of  her  nominee,  Magnus  Erlingss0n,  and  that  he 
had  lived  in  peace  from  1183  to  1187  (the  period  we  have 
now  reached)  with  the  head  and  champion  of  the  Church 
in  Norway.  This,  however,  was  not  to  last ;  the  great  and 
fierce  struggle  was  now  to  begin. 

Sverre,  when  he  had  at  last,  after  1184,  firmly  established 
his  authority  over  the  whole  country,  set  himself  to  remedy 
the  disordered  state  of  the  land,  and  brought  in  many  wise 
measures  of  reform.  To  improve  the  administration  of 
the  law  he  appointed  eleven  lagmcend  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  who  were  authorized  to  judge  in  all  matters 
of  dispute.  The  people  had  the  choice  of  having  their 
cases  settled  by  these  officers,  or  by  the  older  court  of  the 
Thing.  He  also  appointed  officials  called  sysselmcend,  who 
held  the  authority  of  revenue  officers  and  district  judges. 
The  result  of  these  reforms  was  to  check  the  power  of  the 
greater  chiefs  among  the  b0nder,  and  to  enlist  the  mass  of 
the  people  on  the  king's  side. 

After  the  death  of  Archbishop  Eystein  the  ordinary 
course  (if  the  new  ecclesiastical  law  had  been  carried  out) 
would  have  been  for  the  chapter  of  Nidaros  to  proceed  to 
the  election  of  a  new  metropolitan.  Sverre,  however,  was 
not  prepared  to  permit  this,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  did  he 
follow  his  uncle  Inge's  example  and  nominate  a  new 
archbishop.  He  adopted  a  middle  course,  which  showed  a 
desire  to  conciliate  his  clerical  opponents.  A  few  months 
after  Eystein's  death  he  called  a  meeting  in  Bergen  of  the 


SVERRE'S  KRISTENRET.  165 

bishops  and  principal  men,  and  there  brought  forward  the 
question  of  the  appointment.  The  general  feeling  of  the 
gathering  was  in  favour  of  Bishop  Erik  Ivarss0n,  of 
Stavanger,  a  man  of  learning  who  had  studied  in  Paris, 
and  whom  the  late  prelate  was  supposed  to  have  desired  as 
his  successor.  Sverre  at  first  raised  some  objections,  but 
finally  gave  way,  and  Erik  was  chosen  and  went  to  Kome, 
where  Pope  Clement  III.  invested  him  with  the  pallium, 
and  he  returned  to  Norway  in  1189  and  took  possession  of 
his  see. 

At  first  all  went  smoothly  between  the  king  and  the 
archbishop.  The  latter  immediately  set  to  work  to  correct 
many  of  the  abuses  which  had,  in  spite  of  the  strong  rule 
of  Ey stein,  sprung  up  in  his  diocese,  and  his  reforms  were 
all  in  a  good  direction.  He  enforced  the  canon  law,  which 
forbade  the  clergy  to  take  any  part  in  warfare,  a  restriction 
which  was  much  needed,  as  a  number  of  them  had  in  the 
civil  wars  so  far  forgotten  their  office,  as  to  join  in  many  of 
the  battles.  This  prohibition  he  extended  to  Iceland,  a 
part  of  his  province,  where  it  seemed  to  be  even  more 
needed  than  in  Norway.  With  the  laity  he  took  steps  to 
stop  the  spread  of  immorality  and  to  enforce  the  Church's 
law  respecting  affinity,  which  had,  it  seemed,  been  much 
relaxed  and  many  marriages  contracted  within  the 
forbidden  degrees. 

In  these  reforms  he  was  fully  supported  by  King  Sverre, 
and  it  seemed  as  if  the  heads  of  the  Church  and  State  were 
now  working  well  together. 

The  archbishop  held  a  council  in  Bergen,  in  1190,  of 
the  bishops,  at  which  Sverre  was  present,  and  at  this  a 
number  of  regulations  were  made  with  respect  to  breaches 
of  the  Church's  law  which  were  punishable  by  excom- 
munication. This  was  actually  known  as  Sverre's  Kris- 
tenret,  which  clearly  indicates  that  at  that  time  both  the 
king  and  the  bishops  were  working  harmoniously  together. 


166  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

This  concord,  however,  was  not  likely  to  last  long,  when 
we  remember  that  the  king  and  the  archbishop  held 
diametrically  opposite  views  as  to  the  relations  between 
the  Church  and  the  State ;  and  the  storm,  which  had  only 
been  lulled  for  a  time,  soon  broke  out  with  redoubled 
fury. 

Archbishop  Erik  had  no  sooner  returned  to  Nidaros,  than 
in  a  sermon  preached  in  his  cathedral  he  made  a  furious 
attack  on  the  Birkebeiner,  which  immediately  raised  the 
anger  of  the  king,  and  the  old  controversy  was  at  once 
revived.  Most  of  the  points  in  dispute  were  not  new,  but 
they  embodied  the  rival  claims  of  the  king  and  the  Church. 
We  arrive  at  them  most  fully  in  the  Bull  which  the  pope 
subsequently  issued,  confirming  the  archbishop's  privileges, 
and  we  may  briefly  summarize  them  as  follows : — 

1.  The   Coronation. — The  king  claimed  to  be  crowned 
by  the  archbishop  as  a  matter  of  right,  and  not  of  favour. 

2.  TJie  question  of  the   Archiepiscopal  Income. — We 
have  seen  that  Ey stein  adroitly  managed  to  double  that 
part,  which  was  derived  from  fines  by  the  substitution  of 
payments  in  the  S0lv0re,  and  not  the  old  Iag0re.    Sverre 
demanded  a  return  to  the  old   method,  or,    failing  this, 
that  the   king's   share   of  the  fines  should  be  paid  in  the 
same  way. 

3.  The  Rights  of  Patronage. — The  king  demanded  that 
the  ancient  right  of  the  sovereigns  to  nominate  to  vacant 
sees  should  stand,  instead  of  the  election  by  the  chapters. 
Another  and  a  newer  point  was  with  regard  to  the  right  of 
appointment  to  the  h0gendes  kirker,  or  private   chapels. 
This  had  customarily  been  exercised  by  the  founders,  royal 
and  other,  but  the  archbishop  desired  that  it  should  rest 
with  the  diocesan. 

4.  TJie  Clergy  and  the  Civil  Courts. — This  was  practically 
the  same  dispute  as  between  Becket  and  Henry  II.  at  the 
Constitutions  of  Clarendon — Archbishop  Erik  desiring  that 


SVERRE,  AND  THE  STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  CHURCH.    167 

the  ecclesiastical  courts  alone  should  judge  the  clergy  for 
all  offences. 

5.  The  Archbishops'  Retinue. — After  gaining  the  dignity 
of  metropolitans,  the  archbishops  of  Nidaros  had  striven 
to  increase  their  following,  and  to  surround  themselves 
with  a  court  and  state  which  would  rival  that  of  the  king. 
Eystein  and  Erik  added  to  the  archbishops'  retinue,  and 
Sverre  decided  to  restrict  it  to  what  the  law  allowed — viz., 
thirty  men,  of  whom  only  twelve  were  to  be  armed,  and  no 
ships  of  war,  such  as  Eystein  had  possessed. 

These  were  the  chief  points  in  dispute,  and  they  were 
quite  sufficient  for  a  struggle  to  the  death,  between  the 
king  and  the  archbishop.  The  former  in  all  his  demands 
took  his  stand  on  the  old  law  of  St.  Olaf,  which  his  son 
Magnus  the  Good  had  embodied  in  "  The  Grey  Goose," 
while  the  archbishop  relied  on  "  The  Golden  Feather  "  and 
the  canon  law. 

Erik,  seeing  that  the  king  was  quite  determined,  and 
that  his  power  was  too  strong  for  him,  sought  safety  in 
flight,  and  in  the  summer  of  1191  he  made  his  way  to 
Denmark,  where  the  Archbishop  Absalon  of  Lund  received 
him  with  open  arms. 

From  Denmark,  Erik  probably  early  in  1192,  laid  his 
case  before  the  Pope  Celestine  III.,  in  which  the  points  of 
dispute  we  have  just  enumerated  were  fully  set  forth.  In 
the  letter  the  archbishop  seems  to  have  made  a  very  fair 
statement  of  his  case,  without  exaggeration  or  any  of  the 
bitter  personal  attacks  on  the  king  which  afterwards 
marked  the  controversy.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that 
the  demands  on  both  sides  embodied  the  rival  claims  of 
the  king  and  the  Church,  which  were  practically  as  irre- 
concilable in  Norway  as  in  other  countries,  and  as  neither 
party  was  disposed  to  give  way,  there  was  but  little 
prospect  of  peace. 

It  was  a  question  whether  the  old  law  of  the  kingdom 


168  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

of  Norway  and  the  ecclesiastical  arrangements  of  St.  Olaf 
should  stand,  or  whether  the  recent  compact  between  the 
feebler  kings  in  the  days  of  Cardinal  Nicholas  and  Arch- 
bishop Eystein  should  supplant  them.  Sverre  was  the 
champion  of  the  ancient  rights  of  the  Crown  and  the  early 
Church,  Erik  of  the  new  claims  of  the  Church  at  the  time 
j  of  the  greatest  papal  arrogance.  Throughout  the  whole 
long  controversy  Sverre,  on  his  side,  dwelt  most  on  those 
points  which  affected  the  relations  of  the  Church  and  the 
people — such  as  the  fines,  the  rights  of  patronage,  &c. — 
and  the  archbishop  on  matters  which  were  more  purely 
ecclesiastical.  Soon  after  Erik  arrived  in  Denmark  he 
unfortunately  lost  his  eyesight,  but  this  did  not  impair  his 
power  of  carrying  on  the  dispute. 

It  is  a  little  difficult  here,  to  explain  the  delay  which 
followed  the  appeal  to  the  pope,  before  any  decisive  action 
was  taken  by  the  pontiff;  but  it  would  seem  as  if 
Celestine  III.  made  inquiries  of  the  archbishop,  which  were 
sufficiently  satisfactory  to  the  former,  so  that  he  authorised 
the  archbishop  to  excommunicate  Sverre,  which  he 
accordingly  did  in  1193. 

When  the  information  about  this  duly  reached  Sverre 
he  treated  it  with  supreme  contempt,  and  in  his  speeches 
at  the  Things  even  went  so  far  as  to  jest  about  the  arch- 
bishop's blindness,  and  to  declare  that  there  was  nothing 
whatever  to  prevent  him  returning  to  his  see  at  Nidaros. 

If  the  flight  of  Erik  had  delivered  Sverre  from  one  active 
antagonist  in  Norway,  it  left  him  with  a  foe  much  more 
malignant  and  treacherous,  in  Nicholas  the  bishop  of  Oslo. 
This  man  was  of  an  ancient  family  in  the  Nordfjord  district, 
and  closely  connected  with  the  royal  house.  His  mother 
having  been  left  a  widow  by  Harald  Gille,  subsequently 
married  Arne,  Nicholas's  father.  In  his  early  days  he 
fought  on  the  side  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n,  and  was  later 
ordained  priest.  When  the  vacancy  in  the  see  of  Stavanger 


NICHOLAS  OF  OSLO. 

occurred,  by  the  translation  of  Erik  to  Nidaros,  he  was 
chosen  for  his  successor.  King  Sverre,  however,  refused 
to  accept  him,  and  being  a  keen  judge  of  men,  he  described 
Nicholas  as  a  man  with  "  a  smooth  tongue,  a  hare's  heart, 
and  the  fidelity  of  a  fox."  That  he  deserved  this  estimate 
was  abundantly  shown  by  his  subsequent  history,  When 
Sverre  objected  to  his  nomination  to  the  see  of  Stav anger, 
Nicholas  applied  himself  to  the  queen,  Margreta,  who,  after 
many  entreaties,  at  last  induced  Sverre  to  consent,  though 
he  foresaw  that  both  he  and  she  would  have  cause  to  regret 
it.  Almost  immediately  afterwards,  however,  Nicholas  was 
translated  to  Oslo.  This  took  place  probably  in  the  year  in 
which  Erik  fled  to  Denmark. 

In  1192  a  rebellion  against  Sverre  was  raised  by  two  of 
Magnus  Erlingss0n's  party,  Hallkel  Jonss0n  and  Sigurd 
Erlingss0D.  They  took  as  their  chief  a  son  of  King  Magnus, 
named  Sigurd,  and  gave  Sverre  much  trouble  before  he  was 
able  to  crush  them,  which  he  did  finally  at  Florevaag,  near 
Bergen,  in  the  early  part  of  1194,  when  Jonss0n  and  the 
young  chief  Sigurd  were  killed.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
this  rebellion  was  prompted  by  Bishop  Nicholas,  and  Sverre 
was  not  long  before  he  called  him  to  account. 

The  king  now  decided  to  take  a  step  which  he  hoped 
would  strengthen  his  position  very  much  and  finally  disarm 
the  opposition  of  the  Church,  but  which  unfortunately 
seems,  on  the  whole,  to  have  had  the  opposite  effect.  We 
have  seen  how  one  of  his  demands  to  the  archbishop  was  that 
he  should  be  ready  to  crown  him  as  a  matter  of  royal  right, 
and  that  the  archbishop  had  refused.  Though  the  coronation 
of  a  king  was  an  entirely  new  ceremony  in  Norway,  yet 
Sverre  thought  that  as  Magnus  was  crowned  and  had  received 
the  blessing  of  the  Church,  it  would  be  well  for  him  to 
have  the  same  sanction,  which  he  believed  would  make  a 
favourable  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  people. 

After  crushing  the  rebellion  of  Hallkel  Jonss0n,  Sverre 


170  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

felt  the  time  was  come  for  this.  There  is  a  story  in  the 
Sverre  Saga,  that  there  was,  at  this  time,  a  papal  legate  in 
Norway,  whom  Sverre  met  at  Konghelle  whom  he  almost 
succeeded  in  inducing  to  crown  him,  but  that  the  clergy 
poisoned  his  mind  against  the  king,  and  on  his  refusal, 
Sverre  ordered  him  out  of  the  kingdom.  This  account 
seems  to  be  open  to  considerable  doubt,  as  at  this  time  the 
excommunication  against  Sverre,  pronounced  by  Archbishop 
Erik,  was  a  year  old,  and  it  was  quite  impossible  for  the 
legate  (if  there  was  one  at  all  in  Norway  at  the  time)  not 
to  have  known  of  it. 

Sverre,  however,  decided  on  being  crowned.  When  in 
Oslo  he  met  Bishop  Nicholas,  and  charged  him,  at  an  inter- 
view, with  treason,  for  his  share  in  the  late  rising  and 
sternly  threatened  him.  The  "hare-hearted"  bishop  was 
terrified  by  the  king's  anger,  and  begged  for  mercy  and 
swore  to  be  faithful  in  the  future.  Sverre,  keeping  Nicholas 
with  him,  and  calling  upon  Nial  of  Stavanger  and  Thore  of 
Hamar  to  join  him,  at  once  set  out  for  Bergen.  The  see  of 
that  city  was  just  then  vacant  by  the  death  of  Bishop  Paul. 
Sverre  had  his  chaplain,  Martin  (an  Englishman  by  birth), 
chosen  as  his  successor,  and  immediately  consecrated  by  the 
three  bishops.  Sverre  had  now  all  the  bishops  of  Norway 
with  him  in  Bergen,  except,  of  course,  the  archbishop,  and 
he  was  by  them  crowned  with  great  solemnity  in  the 
cathedral,  on  the  festival  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  1194. 
Nicholas,  we  know,  and  some  of  the  others,  afterwards 
declared  that  they  had  acted  under  force,  a  statement  which 
was,  in  his  case  at  any  rate,  perfectly  true.^ 

*  We  may,  however,  very  reasonably  refuse  to  accept  Roger  de 
Hoveden's  account  of  the  matter  when  he  says  :  "  Amongst  these  [the 
bishops  who  crowned  Sverre]  was  the  bishop  of  Wie  [Viken,  that  is 
Oslo],  whose  name  was  Nicholas.  He  declared  that  he  was  unwilling 
to  be  present  at  the  Coronation  because  of  the  absence  of  the  archbishop. 
On  hearing  which  Sverre  caused  the  bishop  to  be  seized  and  to  be  bound 


SVERRE,  AND  THE  BULL  OF  CELESTINE  III.     171 

Meanwhile  an  important  missive  was  on  its  way  from 
Borne.  The  pope  had  taken  a  long  time  to  act  officially  on 
the  letter  of  Archbishop  Erik,  but  a  few  days  before  the 
coronation  of  Sverre,  namely  on  June  15th,  1194,  Celestine 
III.  issued  a  Bull  in  which  he  took  the  see  of  Nidaros  under 
the  protection  of  himself  and  St.  Peter,  and  confirmed  in 
every  detail  the  claims  of  the  archbishop  as  set  forth  in  his 
letter  to  the  pope  in  1192.  The  bull  wound  up  in  the 
customary  manner  with  threatening  excommunication  upon 
any  one  who  resisted  the  claims  of  the  Church.  The  tidings 
of  this  came  to  Denmark,  and  soon  after  to  Norway,  but 
not,  of  course,  until  after  the  coronation  of  Sverre.  When 
the  pope  learned  that  the  four  bishops  had  actually  crowned 
the  excommunicated  king,  he  was  naturally  furious,  and  on 
November  18th  in  the  same  year  he  solemnly  excommuni- 
cated the  bishops  who  had  taken  part  in  the  ceremony  for 
their  unheard-of  conduct  in  "anointing  an  excommunicated 
priest  as  king."  The  archbishop  followed  this  up  by  order- 
ing his  four  suffragans  at  once  to  appear  before  him  in 
Denmark,  and  explain  their  action.  Notwithstanding  the 
thunders  of  Rome  the  four  bishops  stood  firm,  Nicholas  of 
Oslo,  undoubtedly  most  unwillingly,  from  fear  of  Sverre. 

Early  the  following  year,  1195,  Sverre  called  a  meeting 
of  the  bishops  and  some  leading  men  in  Bergen  to  consider 
the  best  course  to  take.  The  four  excommunicated  pre- 
lates were  present,  and  also  the  bishop  of  Skaalholt,  in 
Iceland,  and  the  bishop  of  the  Orkneys.  At  this  meeting 
it  was  decided  to  send  two  representatives  to  Rome  to 
lay  the  case  of  the  bishops  and  the  king  before  the  pope. 
The  men  selected  for  this  delicate  mission  were  Thore, 

on  the  seashore  on  a  small  eminence,  so  that  the  waves  of  the  sea  flowing 
on,  nearly  entered  his  mouth,  upon  which  the  bishop,  being  terrified, 
consented  to  the  wishes  of  Sverre  Birkebein  and  consecrated  him  king 
in  Bergen."  Such  a  proceeding  would  be  very  unlike  Sverre's  usual 
treatment  of  his  opponents. 


172  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

bishop  of  Hamar,  and  a  monk  named  Kichard.  Before  the 
conference  separated,  all  the  bishops  again  renewed  their 
assurances  of  being  faithful  to  the  king  and  then  went 
home.  The  value  of  the  promises  of  Bishop  Nicholas  was 
shown  soon  after,  for  on  his  return  to  Oslo  he  promptly 
fled  from  the  country,  and  betook  himself  to  Archbishop 
Erik,  with  whom  he  made  his  peace. 

It  was  not  likely  that  Sverre's  enemies  (now  that  they 
had  got  Nicholas  over  to  them)  would  remain  long  without 
attacking  him ;  and  we  come  now  to  the  formation  of  the 
Bagler  party,  which  for  a  long  time  carried  on  a  desolating 
strife  in  Norway. 

The  way  it  came  about  was  a  strange  one.  The  Eastern 
emperor,  Alexius  III.,  who  had  just  deposed  his  brother 
Isaac,  was  in  need  of  recruits,  and  sent  a  man  named 
Reidar  (a  Norwegian  probably  by  birth)  to  Sverre,  asking 
permission  to  enlist  men  for  the  service  of  the  emperor. 
Just  at  that  time,  1195,  Sverre  did  not  see  his  way  to  do 
so,  but  later  on,  in  1196,  thinking  possibly  that  some  of  his 
opponents  might  join  Reidar,  gave  him  leave.  The 
emperor's  representative  quickly  collected  a  large  number 
of  men,  chiefly  in  Viken,  and  with  them  crossed  over  to 
Denmark.  Sverre  had,  however,  made  a  mistake,  which 
very  nearly  proved  fatal  to  his  cause.  As  soon  as  Reidar 
and  his  men  got  to  Denmark  they  found  Bishop  Nicholas 
waiting  for  them,  and  very  soon  the  emperor  was  forgotten, 
and  they  were  ready  to  fall  in  with  the  treacherous  bishop's 
plans. 

Nicholas  had  one  of  the  usual  pretenders  to  the  throne  of 
Norway  ready.  This  was  a  young  man  named  Inge,  who 
was  said  to  be  the  son  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n,  but  who  was 
most  probably  a  Dane.  The  episcopal  party  which 
Nicholas  had  thus  got  together,  were  known  in  Norway  as 
the  Baglers,  from  the  word  bag  all,  a  bishop's  crozier.  This 
party,  when  the  strife  began  in  earnest,  showed  that  there 


SVERRE'S  EMBASSY  TO  THE  POPE.  173 

was  very  little  of  religious  spirit  among  them,  though 
nominally  contending  for  the  Church's  cause,  for  they 
pillaged  and  destroyed  impartially  on  all  sides,  and  neither 
churches  nor  ecclesiastical  property  escaped  their  hands. 

Before  we  allude  to  the  struggle  between  Sverre  and  the 
Baglers,  we  must  advert  to  the  strange  termination  of  the 
bishops'  and  Sverre's  Embassy  to  the  pope.  It  is  not 
known  what  actually  took  place  in  Home  ;  but  there  is  no 
doubt  the  envoys  reached  Denmark,  on  their  way  home,  in 
the  winter  of  1196 — 7,  and  that  there  was  with  them  there 
a  Cardinal  Fidentius,  who  had  gone  to  Denmark  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  the  papal  revenue.  After  a  consider- 
able time  some  Danes  came  to  Sverre,  with  the  information 
that  both  the  bishop  and  Richard  had  died  suddenly,  and 
produced  a  papal  letter,  duly  sealed,  which  they  said  had  been 
left  with  them  as  security  for  a  loan.  Sverre  paid  over  the 
money,  said  to  be  advanced,  and  the  men  departed.  Soon 
after  Sverre  had  the  letter,  purporting  to  be  from  the  pope, 
read  out  in  Nidaros,  in  which  Celestine  declared  that  he 
was  satisfied  with  the  explanations  of  the  embassy,  and 
that  he  released  Sverre  from  the  excommunication. 

This  seems  to  have  been  without  much  doubt  a  forgery ; 
but  the  charge  which  was  subsequently  made  in  some 
quarters  against  Sverre,  that  he  first  had  his  men  murdered 
and  then  forged  the  letter,  is  in  the  highest  degree  improb- 
able ;  and  although  Sverre's  enemies,  and  the  pope  himself, 
did  not  hesitate  to  denounce  him,  and  to  declare  the  letter 
to  be  forged,  no  responsible  authority  ever  charged  him 
with  murder. 

There  is  every  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  Thore 
of  Harnar  and  Richard  were  poisoned,  for  the  cardinal 
undoubtedly  was;  he  had  made  himself  most  intensely 
hated,  even  by  the  strongest  papal  adherents,  by  the  way 
in  which  he  had  extorted  money  in  Denmark,  and  it  is 
thought  that  the  poisoning  of  Sverre's  men  (who  were  with 


174  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

him  at  the  same  time)  was  unintentional.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  Sverre,  now  in  great  straits,  assented  to  the 
letter  passing  as  genuine ;  or  it  may  have  been  that  his 
ambassadors,  when  they  failed  in  Kome,  procured  there  (as 
was  easily  done  at  the  time)  a  forged  seal,  which  they 
attached  to  the  letter  which  eventually  came  to  Sverre's 
hands. 

It  would  not  be  fair  to  blame  Sverre  too  severely  for  the 
use  of  a  forged  document,  in  his  contest  with  the  papacy, 
when  we  remember  in  how  great  a  degree  the  papal  claims 
in  Europe,  themselves  rested  on  those  "  metropolitanis 
muscipula,"  the  False  Decretals. 

The  party  of  the  Baglers,  with  Inge  and  Nicholas,  began 
their  attack  on  Sverre's  power  in  Norway  about  the  same 
time  as  the  ambassadors  on  their  journey  from  Kome  died 
in  Denmark.  The  details  of  this  desperate  struggle  belong 
chiefly  to  the  secular  history  of  Norway,  and  need  not 
occupy  us  long  here.  It  was  a  fierce  conflict,  in  which  the 
king  had  to  put  forth  all  his  strength,  and  during  which  he 
seemed  over  and  over  again  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  The 
Baglers  began  in  the  south,  but  soon  went  north  and 
captured  Nidaros ;  from  it  they  were  driven  by  Sverre,  and 
again  they  seized  it.  Though  defeated  several  times  by  the 
king,  they  managed  to  collect  fresh  forces,  and  at  one  time 
Sverre  was  left  without  any  fleet,  while  the  Baglers  ravaged 
the  coast.  During  Sverre's  absence  they  attacked  Bergen, 
and  when  they  failed  to  capture  the  Borg,  Nicholas,  who 
was  with  them,  suggested  burning  the  town.  Even  the 
Baglers  raised  an  objection  to  this,  as  it  would  involve  the 
destruction  of  churches,  but  the  bishop  assured  them  that 
as  Sverre's  supporters  were  all  excommunicated,  the 
churches  where  his  clergy  ministered,  were  no  more  sacred 
than  common  houses.  In  the  conflagration  which  followed, 
six  churches  are  said  to  have  been  destroyed  ! 

Thus  matters  stood  in  1198,  when  things  seemed  to  go 


THE  INTERDICT.  175 

from  bad  to  worse  for  Sverre,  and  a  heavy  blow  fell  upon 
him.  After  Bishop  Thore's  death  and  Nicholas'  flight  and 
treachery,  there  were  only  two  bishops  left  who  were  faith- 
ful to  him,  for  Thore's  successor  does  not  seem  to  have  then 
come  to  his  see,  after  his  consecration  in  Denmark.  Of 
these  two,  Nial  of  Stavanger  fled  to  Denmark,  and  Sverre 
was  left  with  only  Martin  of  Bergen,  his  former  chaplain. 

The  great  weapon  of  the  Church's  armoury  was  now 
about  to  be  employed  against  Sverre.  The  aged  Pope 
Celestine  III.  died  in  January,  1198,  and  immediately  after, 
the  conclave  unanimously  chose  as  his  successor,  the  famous 
Cardinal  Lothair,  of  the  noble  Conti  family,  who  ascended 
the  papal  throne  with  the  title  of  Innocent  III.  The  new 
occupant  of  the  apostolic  see  was  filled  with  ideas  as  to 
the  authority  of  the  papacy  over  the  princes  or  Europe, 
loftier  perhaps  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  struggle  with  the  Kaisers.  Innocent  was  not 
long  before  he  determined  to  try  and  crush  the  "  apostate 
priest,"  as  he  termed  Sverre,  and  to  force  the  kings  of 
Norway  to  hold  their  royal  office  as  a  gift  from  the  Church. 
As  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  Curia,  it  was 
certain  that  he  knew  well  the  facts  of  the  quarrel  between 
the  king  and  the  archbishop,  which  had  been  in  progress 
for  the  previous  eight  years. 

His  action  towards  Sverre  was  the  same  which  he  adopted, 
a  few  years  later,  to  a  very  different  kind  of  monarch,  John 
of  England.  No  sooner  had  he  begun  his  pontificate  than 
he  turned  his  attention  to  Norway,  and  in  1198  despatched 
no  fewer  than  five  papal  letters  in  connection  with  the  case 
of  Sverre  and  the  archbishop.  In  his  letter  to  Erik  he 
announced  his  intention  to  use  the  most  terrible  punishment 
of  the  Church  of  the  middle  ages,  the  Interdict. 

He  pointed  out  to  the  archbishop  that  the  existence  of 
such  a  king  as  Sverre  was  intended  by  God  as  a  visitation 
on  the  Church  in  Norway  for  the  sins  of  the  bishops  and 


176  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

people ;  that  Sverre  was  by  his  own  admission  a  bastard, 
who  had  dared  to  be  admitted  to  the  priesthood,  in  defiance 
of  the  Church's  law ;  that  he  was  a  forger  of  the  bull  of 
Celestine,  an  oppressor  of  the  Church,  and  persecutor  of  the 
clergy.  Then  he  ordered  the  archbishop  to  declare  all 
Sverre's  followers  excommunicated,  to  close  the  churches,  and 
forbid  all  services  and  sacraments  (save  only  holy  baptism 
and  extreme  unction),  and  to  deny  to  all  of  Sverre's  men 
Christian  burial. 

Dealing  with  Martin,  bishop  of  Bergen,  he  commanded 
the  archbishop  at  once  to  suspend  him,  and  bid  him  repair 
immediately  to  Eome. 

Not  content  with  this,  the  pope  sought  to  secure  the  aid 
of  the  temporal  power  to  drive  away  Sverre  from  his  king- 
dom, and  wrote  urgent  letters  to  the  kings  of  Denmark 
and  Sweden  calling  upon  them,  as  faithful  sons  of  the 
Church,  to  at  once  invade  Norway,  and  drive  out  this 
"  monster  "  and  "  limb  of  the  devil,"  so  that  he  would  no 
longer  be  a  persecutor  of  the  Church  of  God.  We  may  say 
at  once,  with  reference  to  this,  that  both  Knut  of  Denmark 
and  Sverker  Karlss0n  of  Sweden  manifested  no  wish  what- 
ever to  carry  out  the  amiable  designs  of  Innocent.  The 
Danish  king  contented  himself  with  giving  shelter  to  Erik, 
and  some  of  the  Bagler  from  time  to  time,  but  on  the 
whole,  both  monarchs  seemed  to  have  had  a  good  deal  of 
sympathy  with  the  Norwegian  king. 

The  Interdict  in  Norway  does  not  seem  to  have  carried 
with  it  any  of  the  terrors  which  the*  same  weapon,  later  on, 
produced  in  England.  It  must  be  remembered  that  all  the 
bishops,  except  one,  were  absent  from  the  country,  and 
there  was  really  no  one  to  enforce  its  provisions.  Also  it 
must  have  been  a  very  long  time  before  its  existence  could 
be  known  all  over  the  land,  and  in  the  parts  where  Sverre's 
authority  was  recognized  it  was  most  likely  that  it  made 
no  difference,  and  the  king  himself  had  always  priests  to 


SVEKRE'S   TALE  MOD  BISKOPERNE.  177 

say  Mass  and  to  perform  all  ecclesiastical  duties.  On  the 
whole  we  may  take  it  that,  formidable,  nay  terrible,  as 
an  Interdict  was  in  other  lands,  its  effect  in  Norway  was, 
comparatively  speaking,  slight,  and  in  Sverre's  Saga,  at 
any  rate,  there  is  no  notice  of  any  general  closing  of  the 
churches. 

Then  another  blow,  which  Sverre  must  have  personally 
felt  very  much,  fell  on  him.  Martin,  bishop  of  Bergen, 
who  up  to  now  had  to  his  king,  been  "faithful  found 
among  the  faithless "  unable  any  longer  to  resist  the 
pressure  which  must  have  been  put  upon  him,  fled  from 
Norway  to  Denmark  to  seek  reconciliation  with  the 
archbishop.  This  took  place  in  1199. 

Sverre  was  not  a  man  to  submit  quietly  to  the  charges 
which  the  pope  and  the  archbishop  laid  against  him  ;  and 
he  issued,  probably  at  the  end  of  1197  or  in  the  spring  of 
1198,  a  very  remarkable  document,  in  which  he  defended 
himself,  and  which  embodied  very  fully  his  views  of  the 
relations  between  the  Church  and  State.  This  notable 
defence  sets  forth  the  lines  upon  which,  the  kings  and 
kaisers  fought  and  struggled,  against  the  popes  of  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  .and  Sverre's  reply  was 
in  its  way,  worthy  to  rank  with  the  defence  of  the  Kaiser 
Frederick  II.  in  his  contest  with  Gregory  IX.  not  very 
long  after. 

This  document  was  known  as  the  Tale  mod  JBisJcoperne 
(speech  against  the  bishops),  which  we  may  best  render 
Sverre's  Apology.  Though  not  actually  written  by  the 
king  (he  is  said  to  have  employed  a  learned  priest  who  had 
studied  at  Bologna),^  it  was  clearly  inspired  by  him, 
and  his  early  studies  in  the  canon  law,  before  his 
ordination  as  priest,  must  have  stood  him  in  good 
stead.  This  document  was  widely  circulated  in  Norway 

*  It  does  not  appear  what  was  the  name  of  this  Peter  de  Vinea  of 
the  North  ;  but  it  may  have  been  Einar,  Sverre's  son-in-law. 

C.S.N.  N 


178  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

and  read  at  all  the  Things,  and  seems  to  have  produced  a 
very  great  impression  upon  the  people  and  to  have  helped 
the  king's  cause  not  a  little. 

We  may  briefly  summarize  Sverre's  Apology  as  follows  : — 

It  begins  with  the  statement  that  it  was  necessary  that 
the  people  should  know  the  true  facts  of  the  case  respecting 
the  quarrel  between  the  king  and  the  bishops.  Then  he 
uses  the  illustration  of  the  body  and  the  members,  and 
how  all  should  work  together.  The  eyes  of  the  body  were 
the  bishops,  the  tongue  the  priests,  the  ears  the  deacons, 
the  shoulders  and  back  the  chiefs  and  principal  men, 
the  legs  and  feet  the  b0nder,  and  the  heart  the  king. 
Then  he  enters  upon  a  scathing  criticism  of  the  actions 
of  the  bishops  and  clergy.  The  eyes,  which  should  see 
aright  and  guide  the  body,  squinted,  and  did  not  rightly 
perform  their  functions.  The  bishops  forced  men  to 
build  churches  and  then  drove  them  from  them.  The 
priests  were  silent  and  set  a  bad  example  to  men,  and 
when  they  were  guilty  of  acts  of  injustice  they  sought  to 
evade  being  tried  by  the  ordinary  courts  of  law.  The 
bishops  and  clergy  together  deceived  the  pope,  and  pre- 
vented him  from  learning  the  truth  respecting  the  king 
and  his  party. 

Then  comes  a  great  deal  about  the  royal  authority. 
The  king's  authority  comes  from  God,  and  is  not  given  by 
the  Church ;  he  is  the  protector  of  the  Church,  and  should 
receive  the  support  and  obedience  of  its  officers.  Our  Lord, 
by  His  example  and  by  the  teaching  of  the  apostles, 
enjoined  submission  even  to  a  heathen  emperor. 

The  king,  as  God's  appointed  protector  of  the  Church, 
has  a  right  to  appoint  men  to  office  in  it,  and  for  the 
exercise  of  this,  he  is  responsible  to  God.  No  king  has  the 
right  to  alienate  this  power  from  the  Crown.  The  arrange- 
ment with  Cardinal  Nicholas  was  only  in  the  case  (which 
then  existed)  of  there  being  more  than  one  king,  and  was 


SVERRE'S  VICTORY  OVER  THE  BAGLERS.         179 

only  a  temporary  measure,  as  was  shown  by  the  fact 
that  when  Inge  was  sole  king,  he  had  nominated  Eystein 
to  the  archbishopric.  Sverre's  object  was  not  to  bring 
shame  on  the  bishops  and  clergy,  but  rather  to  set  the 
truth  before  the  people.  If  they  accuse  and  excommunicate 
the  king  for  exercising  that  power  which  God  has  given  to 
him,  they  encroach  on  his  prerogative  and  sin  against  God, 
and  their  excommunication  does  not  hurt  the  king,  but 
recoils  on  those  who  issue  it.^ 

Such  is  an  outline  of  this  remarkable  document,  by 
which  it  will  be  seen  that  Sverre  regarded  the  royal  power 
and  authority  as  every  bit  as  sacred  a  thing  as  that  of  the 
Church,  and  repudiated  entirely  the  way  in  which  the 
kings,  in  the  past  few  years,  had  alienated  the  rights  of 
the  Crown.  He  went  back  to  the  times  of  St.  Olaf  and  his 
immediate  successors,  and  pointed  out  that  he  was  only 
following  in  the  steps  of  those  famous  men. 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  that  Sverre  was  not  yet  conquered, 
and  had  no  idea  of  giving  up  the  position  he  had  taken. 
Yet  now  he  had  practically  lost  the  whole  of  Norway,  except 
Tr0ndelagen,  where  the  people,  as  a  body,  remained  still 
faithful  to  him.  But  at  what  seemed  the  very  darkest 
moment  of  his  life — with  the  greater  part  of  his  kingdom  in 
the  hands  of  his  enemies,  deserted  by  the  bishops  and  many 
of  the  clergy,  himself  excommunicated,  and  the  land  under 
an  Interdict — a  change  for  the  better  began.  Early  in 
1199  he  managed  to  build  a  sufficient  number  of  ships  to 
encounter  the  Baglers  at  sea,  and  in  June  of  that  year  he 
gained  a  decisive  victory  over  their  forces  in  Strinds0en,  near 
Nidaros.  His  arch-enemy  Nicholas  was  present  with  the 
Baglers  and  fled  with  them  ;  he  seems  to  have  had  enough 
of  fighting,  as  he  does  not  afterwards  appear  to  have  taken 
any  active  part  in  the  subsequent  battles.  The  next  year, 

*  Sverre's  defence  exists  in  a  modern  edition  by  Professor  Storm, 
Christiania,  1885. 

N2 


180  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

1200,  a  determined  attempt  was  made  to  crush  Sverre  by 
a  great  rising  in  Viken,  but  he  managed  by  his  own 
extraordinarily  rapid  movements  to  attack  the  forces  of 
his  enemies  before  they  could  form  a  single  army,  and 
inflicted  on  them  a  crushing  defeat.  In  spite  of  this 
the  Baglers  managed  to  prolong  the  struggle.  It  ended, 
however,  as  far  as  Sverre  was  concerned,  in  the  capture 
of  T0nsberg,  where  the  Baglers,  under  Eeidar  (the  man 
whom  Sverre  had  permitted  to  enlist  followers  in  1196), 
held  out  for  a  long  time,  and  only  surrendered  in  January, 
1202. 

The  end  of  the  heroic  king  was  now  fast  approaching. 
"Worn  out  by  the  terrible  hardships  which  he  had  endured, 
first  in  his  struggle  for  the  crown  with  Magnus,  and  after- 
wards in  the  contest  against  the  Baglers,  he  was  in  very  bad 
health  when  the  town  of  T0nsberg  fell.  He  went  thence  to 
Bergen,  and  with  a  brave  heart  set  himself  to  prepare  for 
death.  Calling  his  men  together  he  told  them  that  he  left 
no  son  behind  him  save  Haakon,  his  other  son,  Sigurd, 
having  died  in  the  year  1200. 

When  the  end  drew  near,  and  he  felt  his  strength  fast 
failing,  he  sent  for  the  priests  who  remained  faithful  to  him 
in  Bergen  (in  spite  of  interdict  and  excommunication)  to 
administer  the  last  sacraments  of  the  Church. 

Then  he  had  himself  placed  in  his  high  seat  and  awaited 
their  coming.  "  If  I  die  here,"  he  said,  "  in  my  high  seat, 
surrounded  by  my  friends,  it  will  be  different  from  what 
Bishop  Nicholas  expected,  when  he  said  that  I  should  be 
hewn  down  for  the  dogs  and  the  ravens.  Praised  be  God,  He 
has  saved  me  in  many  dangers  from  the  weapons  of  my 
enemies."  Then,  "  houseled  and  aneled,"  he  awaited  the 
coming  of  the  great  conqueror.  As  his  men  stood  around 
him,  he  bade  them,  when  he  was  dead,  to  let  his  face 
be  uncovered,  so  that  his  people  might  see  that  the  excom- 
munication had  done  him  no  harm,  as  his  enemies  had 


DEATH  OF  SVERRE.  181 

maintained.     Then,  before  his  departing,  he  summed  up  the 
experience  of  his  troubled  reign  : — 

"  I  have  had  more  trouble  and  sorrow  in  my  reign  than 
peace  and  pleasure.  I  believe  I  have  had  many  envious 
men  who  have  let  me  feel  their  hatred.  May  God  forgive 
them  for  all  of  it.  Now  may  the  Lord  judge  between  me 
and  them,  and  vindicate  my  cause." 

Thus,  on  Saturday,  the  9th  of  March,  1202,  "passed  the 
strong  heroic  soul  away,"  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  life. 
His  dying  wishes  were  respected,  and  the  people  looked,  for 
the  last  time,  on  the  face  of  their  dead  leader,  and  saw  that 
no  change,  but  the  last  and  great  one  had  come  to  him.  No 
difficulty  seems  to  have  been  found  as  to  his  burial.  He 
was  laid  to  rest  in  a  niche  in  the  wall  between  the  choir  and 
the  south  door  of  Christ  Church  Cathedral  in  Bergen,  and 
on  a  copper  plate  hung  upon  the  wall  was  inscribed  in  letters 
of  gold  these  words:  "Here  rests  the  man  who  was  the  glory 
of  kings,  the  defender  of  his  native  land,  and  the  joy  and 
pride  of  his  men." 

Friends  and  foes  alike  lamented  him,  and  said,  truly, 
"  such  a  man  Norway  had  never  before  seen." 

Sverre  Sigurdss0n  is  perhaps  the  most  striking  figure  in 
the  history  of  Norway.  In  estimating  his  character  we 
must  not  forget  that  all  the  evil  which  could  be  said  of  him, 
was  remorselessly  dragged  to  light  by  his  inveterate  enemies, 
who  represented  him  as  almost  a  monster  in  human  form, 
while  many  of  the  other  great  men,  especially  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Church  in  Norway,  had  the  record  of  their  lives 
set  forth  by  writers  who  were  to  their  failings  not  a  little 
kind,  and  who  softened  down  their  worst  actions.  But  we 
fortunately  possess  as  well  a  record  of  his  life  in  the  Sverre's 
Saga  (written  by  Karl  Jonss0n,  and  probably  Styrme,  a 
priest,  of  Iceland),  which  sets  him  forth  in  another  and 
more  favourable  light,  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  with 
truth.  Had  he  lived  at  another  time,  and  been  given  the 


182  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

opportunities,  which  he  undoubtedly  wished  for,  of  healing 
the  wounds  which  the  long  period  of  civil  war  had  inflicted 
upon  Norway,  he  would  have  received  a  unanimous  tribute 
as  to  his  great  genius  as  an  organizer  and  ruler,  as  well  as 
a  warrior.  To  him,  however,  fell  the  task  of  being  the 
champion  of  the  cause  of  liberty,  against  the  overwhelming 
and  unlawful  claims  of  the  Roman  see,  and  of  upholding 
the  authority  and  independence  of  Norway  against  foreign 
ecclesiastical  tyranny.  His  struggle  against  the  right  of 
the  pontiff  to  depose  a  national  king  was  one  of  the  same 
kind  as  was  waged  later  on  in  other  countries  of  Europe, 
and  the  feeling  of  indignation  which  filled  his  followers,  at 
the  attempt  of  Innocent  III.  to  deprive  their  king  of  his 
power,  was  akin  to  that  which  stirred  the  barons  of  England 
to  resist  the  claims  of  the  same  pontiff  not  many  years 
after. 

Sverre  was  no  enemy  of  the  Church  in  Norway.  His 
antagonism  was  against  those  who  sought  to  overturn  the 
settlement  of  both  Church  and  State,  as  it  had  been  arranged 
in  the  days  of  his  great  predecessor  Olaf,  the  king  and 
saint.  He  represented  the  spirit  of  antagonism  among  the 
Teutonic  races  to  the  encroachments  and  aggressions  of  the 
papal  authority,  which  manifested  itself  in  England  in  a  long 
series  of  legislative  enactments,  calculated  to  check  the 
usurpations  of  the  Roman  see.  Had  he  been  allowed,  he 
would  have  lived  and  worked  harmoniously  with  the 
bishops.  Even  his  first  antagonist,  the  great  Archbishop 
Eystein,  found  that  after  all  Sverre  was  not  such  a  tyrant 
as  he  had  imagined,  and  he  was  able  to  spend  his  last  days 
in  peace  with  the  king,  and  Eystein  was,  in  all  respects,  a 
greater  man  than  his  successor  Erik. 

Far  from  being  tyrannical  and  overbearing,  Sverre  seems 
to  have  erred  on  the  side  of  moderation,  and  a  desire  to 
yield  to  the  wishes  of  the  bishops.  He  was  a  shrewd  judge 
of  men,  and  had  he  chosen  to  insist  on  what  he  believed  to 


SVERRE'S  CHARACTER.  183 

be  the  right  of  the  Crown  (a  right  universally  exercised  by 
all  his  predecessors,  except  Magnus  Erlingss0n)  and  refused 
to  assent  to  the  appointments,  first  of  Erik  to  Nidaros  and 
afterwards  Nicholas  to  Stavanger,  all  the  troubles  that 
followed  might  have  been  averted.  In  those  two  instances 
Sverre  gave  way  against  his  own  better  judgment,  for 
which  he  suffered  severely  afterwards. 

With  all  his  skill  in  war  and  the  desperate  battles  in 
which  he  so  often  engaged,  Sverre  was  a  man  of  great 
kindness  of  heart,  and  never  (except  perhaps  on  one 
occasion,  and  under  very  great  provocation)  exercised 
vengeance  on  his  enemies,  which  was  everywhere  looked 
upon  as  the  most  natural  thing  to  do  in  his  day.  His 
private  life  was  no  more  free  from  blame  than  that  of  the 
sainted  Olaf,  but  he  was  certainly  no  worse  than  many  who 
died  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  and  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
papal  favour  and  love.  His  men,  the  far-famed  Birkebeiner, 
followed  him  with  the  most  intense  devotion,  and  he  was 
truly,  as  his  epitaph  said,  "their  joy  and  pride."  His 
genius  transformed  a  band  of  wild  outlaws  into  a  highly- 
trained  and  strictly-disciplined  body  of  men,  and  made  their 
name,  once  a  term  of  contempt  and  derision,  one  coveted 
and  esteemed  by  brave  men. 

We  are  often  tempted  to  speculate  what  would  have  been 
Sverre's  life,  had  he  not  given  up  the  service  of  the  Altar  for 
the  Throne.  Would  he  have  risen  from  the  obscurity  of  the 
storm-beaten  islands  of  the  northern  seas  to  a  position  of 
great  power  and  authority  in  the  Church  \  A  man  of  his 
genius  would  most  likely  have  come  to  the  front  in  those 
days,  when  many  of  the  greatest  prelates,  like  Nicholas 
Breakspeare,  often  rose  step  by  step  until  they  gained  the 
very  highest  places  in  the  service  of  the  Church.  His  life 
might  have  been  a  happier  one,  and  he  might  not  have 
aroused  so  much  hostility  as  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  king  of 
Norway.  But  it  is  Sverre  the  king,  not  Sverre  the  cardinal 


184  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

or  pope,  with  whom  we  have  had  to  deal,  and  that  kingship 
brought  to  him,  in  his  own  sad  words,  "  more  trouble  and 
sorrow  than  peace  and  pleasure "  ;  and  he  passed  away  at 
any  rate  comforted  with  the  feeling  that  he  had  won  the 
love  of  his  followers,  and  was  to  his  last  day  "the  defender 
of  his  native  land." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

HAAKON  SVERRESS0N  TO  THE  DEATH  OF    HAAKON 
HAAKONSS0N. 

The  Truce  with  the  Church — Erik  Returns — Haakon  Dies  Suddenly — 
Internal  Struggles — Inge  Baardss0n — Haakon  Haakonss0n  cared 
for  by  the  Birkebeiner — Proclaimed  King — End  of  the  Struggle 
between  the  Birkebeiner  and  Baglers — Death  of  Bishop  Nicholas  of 
Oslo — Duke  Skule  Killed — Cardinal  William  of  Sabina  Crowns 
Haakon — The  Cardinal's  Mission — Haakon's  Legislation — Union 
with  Iceland — New  Law  of  Succession — Death  of  Haakon — 
Papal  Letters  during  his  Reign. 

AT  the  time  of  Sverre's  death,  his  only  surviving,  but 
illegitimate  son  Haakon  was  at  Nidaros.  Tidings  of  the 
event  were  conveyed  in  great  haste  to  him,  and  he  was  at 
once  proclaimed  king,  and  soon  after  formally  accepted  by 
the  Thing.  Sverre's  other  son,  Sigurd,  who  died  in  1200, 
had  left  a  son,  who,  however,  was  only  an  infant,  and  no 
claim  on  his  behalf  was  then  advanced.  Haakon  was  at 
this  time  a  young  man  of  great  promise,  and  well  beloved 
by  all  the  Birkebeiner  party ;  he  was  an  excellent  speaker, 
and  of  most  kindly  and  generous  disposition.  In  person  he 
was  of  commanding  height,  and  his  skill  in  war  had  been 
abundantly  proved  in  the  many  conflicts  in  which  he  had 
taken  part.  Like  his  father,  he  was  a  man  of  education  far 
beyond  the  average  of  the  kings  of  his  time,  and  a  transla- 
tion from  the  Latin  ascribed  to  him  still  survives.^ 

Sverre  before  his  death   had  written  to   Haakon  with 

*  This  was  the  "  Barlaam's  and  Josafat's  Saga,"  a  religious  romance, 
originally  written  in  Greek  about  the  eighth  century  (traditionally  by 
John  of  Damascus)  and  afterwards  translated  into  Latin.  The  Norse 
version  is  ascribed  also  to  Haakon  the  Younger,  a  son  of  Haakon 
Haakonss0n,  who  died  in  1257. 


186  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

reference  to  the  quarrel  with  the  bishops,  and  urged  his  son 
to  make  peace  with  them.  Accordingly  the  first  step  of 
Haakon,  after  his  succession,  was  to  recall  the  fugitive 
bishops,  who  gladly  availed  themselves  of  the  offer  of 
peace,  and  by  the  summer  of  1202,  Erik  and  the  others 
returned  to  their  sees. 

It  now  seemed  as  if  an  era  of  peace  and  tranquillity  was 
about  to  dawn  once  more  on  the  land,  for  both  parties  were 
exhausted  by  the  prolonged  conflict  and  anxious  for  a 
settlement.  When  the  prelates  had  come  back,  the  king 
issued  a  letter  "  to  the  archbishop,  bishops,  clergy,  and 
b0nder,"  in  which  he  expressed  his  willingness  to  grant  to 
the  Church  all  its  rights  and  privileges ;  but  with  this 
important  reservation  added :  "  My  kingdom  and  my 
full  royal  rights  unimpaired,  in  agreement  with  the  arrange- 
ment made  by  Cardinal  Nicholas,  and  agreed  to  by  the 
three  kings,  Ey stein,  Sigurd,  and  Inge,  and  which  King 
Eystein's  letter  witnesses,  and  King  Magnus  confirmed,  as 
also  my  father  by  his  letter  .  .  .  whilst  the  Church  and  all 
the  clergy  agree  to  pay  to  me  that  homage  and  honour  they 
are  bound  to  offer  to  their  lawful  king."  It  will  be  seen  by 
this  that  the  peace  between  the  king  and  the  Church,  was 
after  all  merely  an  armistice,  and  that  all  the  critical  points 
in  the  dispute  were  practically  passed  over  by  a  kind  of 
tacit  agreement.  In  other  words,  both  parties  were  content 
to  let  matters  stand  "as  in  1152,"  and  we  know  that 
Sverre  regarded  the  burning  question  of  the  right  of  the 
appointment  of  the  bishops  by  the  Crown,  as  unimpaired 
by  Cardinal  Nicholas's  arrangement,  when  there  was  only 
one  king  in  the  land.  The  archbishop  now  took  off  the 
excommunication  on  Sverre's  adherents,  and  removed  any 
of  the  restrictions  which  had  followed  the  Interdict,  and  all 
parties  in  Norway  were  for  the  time  satisfied. 

Not  so  Innocent  III.  When  information  reached  him  of 
the  death  of  Sverre,  and  of  the  events  which  we  have  just 


DEATH  OF  HAAKON  SVERRESS0N.  187 

mentioned,  he  was  extremely  angry,  though  he  does  not 
seem  to  have  taken  any  official  notice  until  January,  1204, 
when  he  wrote  a  very  sharp  and  scathing  letter  to  Archbishop 
Erik.  He  began,  indeed,  by  rejoicing  that  peace  had  come 
once  more  to  the  land  after  the  death  of  Sverre.  Then  he 
reminded  the  archbishop  that  he  had  dared  to  take  too  much 
upon  him,  by  releasing  from  the  ban  those  whom  he  had 
excommunicated,  and  compares  the  archbishop  to  an  ape 
that  imitates  the  actions  of  men,  and  finally  ordered  him 
to  send  some  one  to  Kome  to  explain  his  conduct. 

By  the  time  this  letter  reached  Norway,  however,  the 
condition  of  affairs  was  changed,  for  on  January  1st,  1204, 
Haakon  died  suddenly  in  Bergen  (said  to  have  been  poisoned 
by  Sverre's  widow,  Margreta),  and  the  hopes  which  were 
cherished  for  peace  and  prosperity  under  the  wise  and 
prudent  rule  of  Haakon,  were  dashed  to  the  ground. 

The  events  of  the  immediately  following  years  need  not 
closely  concern  us,  but  it  is  necessary  to  state  them  as 
briefly  as  possible. 

During  the  short  reign  of  Haakon  the  remains  of  the 
Bagler  party  had  tried  to  carry  on  the  strife,  chiefly  in  the 
Oplands,  but  they  were  defeated  and  their  chief,  Inge, 
killed  in  the  close  of  1202. 

Haakon  left  no  legitimate  heir,  and  his  illegitimate  son 
(afterwards  the  famous  King  Haakon  Haakonss0n)  was  not 
then  born.  There  was  therefore  no  direct  heir  in  the  male 
line,  except  the  little  four-year-old  son  of  Haakon's  brother, 
Sigurd  Guttorm  Sigurdss0n,  and  he  was  proclaimed  king  in 
Bergen  immediately  after  his  uncle's  death,  and  Haakon 
Galin,  the  son  of  Cecilia  (King  Sverre's  sister)  by  her  first 
marriage  was  named  as  regent. 

There  was,  however,  another  person  who,  through  his 
mother,  might  have  a  claim  to  the  throne,  and  this  was  Inge 
Baardss0n,  son  of  Cecilia  by  her  second  marriage.  The 
little  Guttorm  lived  only  a  few  months,  and  died  in  Nidaros 


188  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

(by  poison  it  was  supposed)  in  the  summer  of  1204,  and 
then  Inge  Baardss0n  was,  with  the  archbishop's  approval, 
accepted  as  king.  At  this  time  he  was  only  sixteen  years 
of  age. 

Now  the  Baglers  started  again  in  the  south,  and  secured 
a  new  chief,  Erling  Steinvseg,  whom  they  announced  to  be 
a  son  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n.  They  very  nearly  succeeded 
in  capturing  King  Inge  at  Nidaros,  while  he  was  engaged 
in  celebrating  his  sister's  wedding,  but  he  managed  to 
escape. 

The  struggle  with  the  Baglers  went  on  with  varying 
fortune  for  some  years  longer.  Their  chief  died  in  1207, 
and  then  Bishop  Nicholas  got  them  to  accept  his  nephew 
Filippus  as  their  leader,  and  entered  into  negotiations  with 
the  young  king  and  Haakon  Galin,  which  resulted  in  his 
nephew  being  granted  the  kingship  over  Viken  and  part  of 
the  Oplands,  and  in  1209  he  married  Kristine,  the  daughter 
of  King  Sverre,  and  there  was  peace  for  a  time. 

Archbishop  Erik,  whose  blindness  unfitted  him  for  the 
duties  of  his  office,  resigned  his  see  in  1205,  and  Thore,  a 
member  of  the  Oslo  chapter,  was  chosen  as  his  successor 
and  went  to  Eome,  where  he  was  consecrated  and  received 
the  pallium.  In  1207  he  returned  again  to  Norway. 
Archbishop  Erik  had  held  the  see  of  Nidaros  for  six- 
teen years,  ten  of  which  he  lived  in  exile  in  Denmark. 
Thore,  his  successor,  was,  in  spite  of  his  connection  with 
the  see  of  Oslo,  a  man  well  disposed  for  peace,  and  did 
much  to  help  to  bring  about  a  better  state  of  feeling 
between  the  parties. 

King  Inge  had  always  a  dangerous  rival  in  Haakon 
Galin,  who  claimed  a  share  of  the  kingdom  by  right  of  his 
mother  and  being  Inge's  half-brother.  To  avoid  war  the 
king  made  (through  the  mediation  of  Archbishop  Thore 
and  Erik,  who  still  lived)  an  agreement  in  1213  to  share 
the  royal  dignity  with  his  half-brother,  providing  that 


THE  CHILDHOOD  OF  HAAKON   HAAKONSS0N.     189 

whichever  of  them  survived  should  have  the  other's  share, 
and  then,  after  their  death,  the  legitimate  son  of  either  of 
them.  This  was  intended  to  secure  the  succession  to 
Haakon's  family,  as  Inge  had  no  legitimate  heir,  and  also 
to  exclude  the  one  who,  according  to  the  old  law,  had  a 
better  right  to  the  crown  than  either  Inge  or  Haakon — 
namely,  Haakon  Haakonss0n,  the  illegitimate  son  of  Haakon, 
the  son  of  Sverre. 

Haakon  Haakonss0n  was  the  son  of  Haakon  Sverress0n 
and  a  woman  named  Inga,  who  lived  near  Sarpsborg ;  he 
was  not  born  until  after  his  father's  death,  and  the  fact  of 
his  birth  was  for  some  time  kept  a  secret.  Some  of  the 
Birkebeiner,  however,  learned  it,  and  decided  that  it  would 
be  safer  for  Sverre's  grandson  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of 
Bishop  Nicholas  and  his  nephew  Filippus.  Taking  the 
little  child  with  them,  two  faithful  Birkebeiner  carried  him 
in  their  arms  in  the  winter  of  1205  to  Nidaros,  where  he 
was  kindly  received  by  Inge  and  allowed  to  remain  in 
peace.  The  old  Birkebeiner  warriors  loved  the  little  boy, 
and  watched  over  him  with  the  greatest  care. 

Haakon  Galin  only  lived  a  year  after  the  compact  with 
Inge,  who  was  himself  in  bad  health  and  depended  much 
upon  his  half-brother,  Skule  Baardss0n,^  whom  he  made  a 
jarl,  and  who  now  cherished  plans  for  making  himself  king 
after  Inge.  The  old  Birkebeiner  were  determined,  if  the 
king  should  die,  that  young  Haakon  should  succeed  him, 
and,  being  suspicious  of  danger,  kept  a  careful  watch  over 
the  lad. 

Archbishop  Thore  died  in  1214,  after  having  held  the 
see  for  seven  years.  He  was  largely  instrumental  in  carry- 
ing out  the  negotiations  between  the  contending  parties  in 
Norway,  and  always  carefully  looked  after  the  interests 
and  claims  of  the  Church.  During  his  episcopate  the 

*  Skule  was  the  son  of  Baard,  Inge's  father,  by  his  second  marriage 
after  Cecilia's  death. 


190  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Cistercian  monastery  at  Tautra,  on  the  Trondhjem  Fjord, 
was  founded,  probably  in  1207.  Thore  was  succeeded  by 
a  priest  named  Guttorm,  who  was  consecrated  by  the  pope 
in  1215.  The  year  after  Bishop  Martin,  of  Bergen, 
Sverre's  old  chaplain,  died,  and  Haavard  was  unanimously 
chosen  as  his  successor.  On  his  election  the  new  archbishop 
raised  a  question  about  his  consecration.  Haavard  was  the 
son  of  a  priest,  and  the  archbishop  declined  to  consecrate 
him  (on  the  ground  of  his  being  therefore  illegitimate)  with- 
out a  dispensation  from  the  pope.  Application  was  made 
to  Innocent  for  this,  but  he  died  in  July,  1216,  before  the 
matter  was  considered  ;  his  successor,  however,  Honorius 
III.,  granted  the  dispensation,  and  Haavard  was  consecrated 
by  Guttorm.  This  was  the  first  case  of  the  kind  in 
Norway. 

On  April  22nd,  1217,  King  Inge,  who  had  been  ill  for 
some  time,  died  at  Nidaros.  The  Birkebeiner  at  once  pro- 
claimed young  Haakon  as  king,  and  this  was  approved  at 
the  Thing.  Skule  Baardss0n  did  not  dare  to  oppose  this,  and 
had  to  be  content  with  his  jarldom  and  the  regency  of  the 
kingdom.  Soon  after  the  king  and  Skule  went  to  Bergen, 
and  in  spite  of  some  efforts  to  stir  up  opposition  to  Haakon 
in  that  part  of  the  country,  he  was  well  received  by  both 
clergy  and  people,  and  at  a  Gula  Thing  was  accepted  as 
king.  The  Bagler  king  in  Viken,  Filippus,  died  in  the 
same  year  as  Inge,  and  the  rule  of  Haakon  was  extended 
to  that  part  of  the  country  as  well. 

When  Haakon  returned  to  Nidaros  in  1218,  after  having 
been  to  Viken,  Archbishop  Guttorm  received  him  with  great 
coldness,  not  to  say  rudeness,  while  he  treated  Skule  with 
marked  respect.  When  called  to  account  for  this,  he 
stated  that  there  was  yet  lacking  some  sufficient  proof  of 
Haakon's  parentage.  In  order  that  this  matter  might  be 
set  at  rest,  a  Rigsm0de,  or  meeting  of  all  the  chief  men  of 
the  kingdom,  was  called  to  meet  at  Bergen  in  the  summer 


THE  LAST  TRIAL  BY  ORDEAL.  191 

of  the  same  year.  At  this,  all  the  bishops,  chiefs,  and 
representatives  of  the  b0nder  were  present.  It  was  first 
proposed  that  King  Haakon  should  follow  the  example  of 
Harald  Grille  and  others,  and  submit  to  the  trial  by  ordeal ; 
but  this  was  strongly  objected  to  by  Haakon's  faithful 
Birkebeiner,  and  one  of  them,  named  Dagfinn,  said  that  if  it 
was  to  be  a  trial  by  iron  it  would  be  by  cold  iron  (swords), 
which  they  would  use  against  the  king's  enemies.  Finally 
it  was  agreed  that  Inga,  the  king's  mother,  should  undergo 
the  trial  by  ordea],  to  prove  that  Haakon  was  really  the 
son  of  King  Haakon  Sverress0n,  and  this  she  did  successfully 
at  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Nidaros,  and  all  doubt  was  thus  set 
at  rest.  This  was  the  last  occasion  in  which  this  method 
of  trial  was  used  in  the  matter  of  royal  claims,  and  soon 
afterwards  trial  by  ordeal  was  for  all  cases  stopped  by 
law. 

Then,  as  Haakon's  royal  birth  was  undoubted,  a  sentence 
of  excommunication  was  pronounced  against  all  who  in 
future  questioned  it. 

The  Baglers,  however,  still  gave  trouble  under  a  new 
leader  named  Bene  ;  but  the  people  in  Viken  had  had  enough 
of  them,  and  called  in  the  king  and  the  Birkebeiner  to  help 
them,  and  defeated  the  Baglers.  After  this  the  old  chiefs 
of  the  Baglers  in  Viken  finally  made  peace  and  swore 
allegiance  to  King  Haakon,  and  thus  formally  ended  the 
great  struggle  between  Baglers  and  Birkebeiner,  which  for 
twenty  years  had  devastated  Norway  and  done  an  almost 
irreparable  amount  of  injury  to  the  land. 

Jarl  Skule  did  not  cease  to  cherish  his  ambitious  designs 
of  supplanting  Haakon,  and  various  different  risings  took 
place  from  time  to  time,  in  which  both  he  and  the  wily 
Bishop  Nicholas,  who  hated  all  of  Sverre's  family, 
undoubtedly  had  a  share. 

Efforts  were  made  to  avert  the  growing  hostility  between 
the  jarl  and  the  king  by  an  arrangement  by  which  the 


192  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

latter  should  be  betrothed  to  the  jarl's  daughter  Margreta, 
then  only  a  child,  but  even  the  prospect  of  having 
the  king  for  a  son-in-law,  did  not  stop  the  intrigues  of 
Skule. 

There  were  a  number  of  persons  who  claimed  to  have  a 
right  to,  at  any  rate  a  share  in,  the  kingdom  at  that  time, 
and  it  was  decided  to  hold  another  Rigsm0de  in  Bergen  in 
the  summer  of  1223.  When  this  met,  Archbishop  Guttorm 
who  presided,  went  in  detail  through  the  claims  of  the 
different  candidates — the  jarl  Skule,  who  claimed  as 
Inge's  half  brother;  Guttorm,  Inge's  illegitimate  son; 
Sigurd  Kibbung,  who  professed  to  be  a  son  of  Magnus 
Erlingss0n ;  and  Knut,  who  was  son  of  Haakon  Galin.  The 
meeting,  however,  decided  with  practical  unanimity  in  favour 
of  Haakon,  who  was  acknowledged  as  the  rightful  king, 
and  Skule  Jarl  was  allowed  to  govern  the  third  part  of  the 
kingdom. 

This  was  about  the  last  public  act  of  Archbishop  Gut- 
torm, who  died  the  next  year,  1224.  The  chapter  chose 
as  his  successor  Sigurd  of  Tautra,  who  was  absent  from  the 
country  at  the  time  ;  but  the  king  was  in  favour  of  another 
candidate  named  Peter,  and  sent  him  to  the  pope,  who 
accepted  him,  and  after  consecrating  him  and  investing 
him  with  the  pallium,  sent  him  back  to  Norway  in  1225. 

The  same  year  another  rebellion  (again  incited  by  the 
indefatigable  plotter  Bishop  Nicholas)  broke  out  under 
Sigurd,  one  of  the  claimants  mentioned  above,  but  this 
was  soon  put  down. 

The  long  life  of  the  remarkable  Bishop  Nicholas  of  Oslo 
was  now  drawing  to  a  close  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  suffered 
some  qualms  of  conscience  for  the  way  in  which  he  had 
acted  towards  Sverre  and  his  descendants,  to  almost  all  of 
whom  he  had  at  one  time  or  another  sworn  allegiance,  and 
whom  notwithstanding,  he  had  opposed  in  every  way,  both 
openly  and  in  secret.  Haakon  had  now  undoubted  proofs 


DEATH  OF  NICHOLAS  ARNESS0N.  193 

of  Nicholas's  complicity  in  the  late  rising,  and  intended  to 
bring  it  home  to  him.  But  the  bishop  was  now  a  dying 
man,  and  desired  before  he  left  the  world,  to  make  tardy 
amends  for  his  life-long  disloyalty.  He  sent  a  messenger  to 
Haakon  desiring  to  see  him.  When  the  king  came,  he  first 
reproached  the  bishop  for  what  he  had  done,  but  then  the 
dying  man  confessed  his  share  in  the  various  rebellions  and 
asked  the  forgiveness  of  Haakon.  This  the  king  fully  and 
freely  granted,  and,  remaining  with  the  bishop  until  his 
death,  afterwards  gave  him  a  splendid  burial.  Thus  in 
1225,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-fifth 
of  his  episcopate,  Nicholas  Arness0n  passed  away.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  Sverre's  estimate  of  his  character  was  a 
correct  one;  smooth-tongued,  cowardly  and  treacherous,  he 
always  was  to  Sverre  and  his  descendants,  and  though 
doubtless  he  had,  what  he  believed  to  be,  the  interests  of 
the  Church  at  heart,  yet  he  was  the  chief  cause  of  all  the 
troubles  which  had  come  upon  the  country,  during  the 
thirty-five  years  of  his  tenure  of  the  see  of  Oslo.  Very 
shrewd  he  was  in  all  his  actions,  and  Haakon  was  right 
when  he  declared  that  "  he  never  had  his  equal  in  worldly 
wisdom."  We  might  well  wish  that,  as  a  bishop  of  the 
Church,  he  had  merited  a  better  epitaph. 

With  the  death  of  Bishop  Nicholas  the  spirit  of  rebellion 
did  not,  however,  cease.  Sigurd  Ribbung  died,  but 
Knut  took  his  place,  until  he  was  vanquished  by  Haakon 
and  swore  allegiance  to  him,  an  oath  which,  in  spite  of 
subsequent  temptations  to  the  contrary,  he  faithfully 
kept. 

Archbishop  Peter  only  lived  after  his  consecration  for 
two  years,  dying  in  1226,  and  was  succeeded  by  Thore, 
who  after  a  brief  episcopate  died  in  1230.  The  next 
archbishop  was  Sigurd  Eindridess0n,  who  was  the  son  of 
one  of  Sverre's  Birkebeiner,  and  was,  it  might  be  suppobed, 
naturally  inclined  to  the  king's  party ;  but  we  shall,  later 

C.S.N.  o 


194  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

on,  find  him  in  a  somewhat  different  position  during  his 
long  episcopate. 

It  was  now  becoming  clear  that,  sooner  or  later,  an  open 
rupture  between  the  king  and  the  great  Jarl  Skule  must 
come  about.  The  archbishop  and  others  averted  it  several 
times,  and  the  king  strove  to  keep  peace  with  his  father- 
in-law,  for  his  marriage  with  Margreta  had  been  duly 
solemnized,  and  Skule  was  created  a  duke,  the  first  who 
bore  that  title  in  Norway. 

In  1239  the  long-expected  outbreak  took  place.  Skule 
was  in  Nidaros  and  the  king  in  Bergen.  The  former  called 
a  Thing  and  carried  to  it  by  force  the  sacred  relics  of  the 
cathedral,  including  the  body  of  St.  Olaf,  and  was  there  by 
his  adherents  proclaimed  king.  But  he  failed  to  surprise 
Haakon  in  Bergen  as  he  had  intended.  The  struggle 
took  place  in  the  south.  Skule  first  defeated  the  king's 
party  in  a  battle,  but  was  afterwards  himself  defeated  at 
Oslo.  Then  he  fled  to  Nidaros,  pursued  by  the  Birkebeiner. 
He  first  hid  near  the  town,  and  then  sought  refuge  in 
Elgesseter  monastery.  This  the  Birkebeiner  set  on  fire,  and 
Skule  and  his  followers  rushed  out,  but  were  to  a  man  cut 
down  by  the  king's  men.  Thus  fell,  on  May  23rd,  1240, 
in  his  fifty- first  year,  the  great  chief  Skule  Baardss0n,  and 
now  Haakon  was  left  in  undisputed  possession  of  his 
kingdom.  He  had  just  before  the  final  rupture  with  Skule 
taken  the  precaution  to  have  his  son,  by  his  marriage  with 
Margreta,  accepted  as  a  king  by  the  Thing  in  Nidaros  and 
afterwards  in  Bergen,  though  he  had  also  an  older,  but 
illegitimate  son  named  Sigurd.  Haakon's  idea  was  to 
secure  the  succession  of  his  legitimate  son,  who  alone, 
according  to  the  bishop's  theory,  should  have  a  right  to 
the  throne. 

Haakon  Haakonss0n,  having  now  delivered  himself  and 
his  kingdom  from  all  rivals  and  claimants  to  the  throne, 
desired  to  carry  out  his  wish  of  being  formally  crowned  by 


HAAKON   AND   HIS  CORONATION.  195 

the  archbishop,  as  his  immediate  predecessor  had  been.  He 
therefore  approached  the  primate,  and  he  referred  the 
matter  to  the  pope  (Gregory  IX.),  who  appointed  a  com- 
mission to  investigate  the  king's  claim.  Nothing,  however, 
was  done  at  the  time,  or  in  the  short  reign  of  Gregory's 
successor,  Celestine  IV.,  and  in  1243  the  famous  Innocent  IV. 
became  pope. 

Haakon,  who  was  in  favour  with  Innocent,  felt  that  this 
was  the  best  time  to  give  effect  to  his  wishes.  In  1245  he 
summoned  a  meeting  of  the  archbishop  and  bishops  to  meet 
in  Bergen,  and  there  brought  before  them  the  subject  of  his 
coronation.  The  archbishop  and  the  others  expressed  them- 
selves quite  willing  to  anoint  and  crown  the  king,  but  they 
demanded  in  return  for  this  that  Haakon  should  be  ready 
to  grant  the  same  terms  as  Magnus  Erlingss0n  in  1164. 
They  found,  however,  that  they  had  to  deal  with  a  very 
different  stamp  of  man  from  Erling  Skakke's  son.  To  the 
demands  of  the  bishops  the  king  replied  :  "  The  kings  have 
already  granted  you  such  great  rights  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  add  to  them,  and,  besides,  you  have  exceeded  all 
lawful  bounds.  If  I  swore  such  an  oath  as  King  Magnus 
swore,  it  seems  to  me  that  my  glory  would  be  diminished 
and  not  increased,  for  Magnus  did  not  mind  what  he  did 
to  gain  that  to  which  he  had  no  right.  By  God's  help  I 
hope  never  to  be  obliged  to  accept  or  to  buy  from  you,  that 
to  which  God  has  chosen  me  after  my  father  and  my  fore- 
fathers, and  be  sure  that  by  God's  grace  I  shall  win  my 
crown  so  freely  and  unconditionally  that  I  can  wear  it  as 
securely  as  other  famous  kings,  or  it  shall  never  come  upon 
my  head." 

These  words,  in  which  we  have  an  echo  of  his  grand- 
father's famous  Apology,  showed  the  prelates  that  they  must 
not  endeavour  to  push  their  claims  too  far  with  Haakon. 
After  this  the  king  broke  off  the  negotiations  with  the 
bishops,  but  did  not  abandon  his  design.  He  took  the 


196  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

bolder  and,  as  it  proved,  the  wiser  plan  of  addressing  him- 
self directly  to  Innocent  IV.  Accordingly  he  dispatched 
Laurentius,  abbot  of  Hoved0,  and  Bjarne,  one  of  the  chapter 
of  Nidaros,  with  a  letter  to  Innocent  begging  him  to  send 
a  cardinal  legate  to  Norway  to  crown  him/* 

Haakon  could  not  possiby  have  selected  a  more  pro- 
pitious time  for  approaching  the  pope.  The  pontiff  was,  as 
we  know,  at  that  very  time  in  the  midst  of  his  great  quarrel 
with  Kaiser  Frederick  II.,  and  had  been  obliged  to  flee  from 
Kome  and  take  refuge  in  Lyons.  Innocent  saw  the  import- 
ance of  enlisting  on  his  side  as  many  as  possible  of  the 
kings  of  Europe,  and  as  Haakon  had  now  become  powerful 
and  was  likely  to  be  useful  in  the  struggle,  he  listened 
most  willingly  to  his  request. 

In  October,  1246,  he  wrote  to  Haakon  from  Lyons 
saying  that  he  would  grant  his  request  and  send  to  him 
William,  cardinal  bishop  of  Sabina,  as  legate  in  order  to  crown 
the  king,  and  in  the  next  month  he  dispatched  another  letter 
in  which  he  dispensed  his  want  of  legitimacy,  so  that  it 
should  be  no  bar  to  his  royal  title. 

Innocent  IV.  had  in  view,  not  merely  the  securing  of  an 
adherent  in  Haakon,  but  intended  that  the  legate  should 
make  an  investigation  into  the  state  of  the  Church  both  in 

*  Matthew  Paris  supplies  us  with  some  interesting  details  as  to  this 
embassy.  He  is  an  authority  of  great  importance  in  matters  relating 
to  Haakon,  as  he  was  a  personal  friend  of  the  king,  and  had  been  in 
Norway  himself.  From  Matthew's  chronicle  it  would  appear  that 
Haakon,  in  order  to  secure  his  coronation,  had  to  give  in  advance  a 
very  large  sum  of  money  to  Innocent  to  induce  him  to  send  Cardinal 
William  of  Sabina  to  Norway.  Considering  the  pope's  position  at  that 
time  this  statement  seems  extremely  probable.  One  of  the  king's 
ambassadors,  Laurentius,  the  abbot  of  Hoved0,  was,  as  Matthew  tells 
us,  an  Englishman  by  birth  and  a  professed  Cistercian.  He  (Haakon) 
received  consecration  and  legitimation  from  Innocent  IV.,  "having 
given  to  the  same  pope  30,000  marks  of  silver  by  the  hand  of  Master 
Laurence,  afterwards  abbot  of  Kirkstead  in  Lindesey." — Matt.  Paris, 
Vol.  V.,  page  222  (Rolls  series). 


THE   MISSION  OP  CARDINAL  WILLIAM  OF  SABINA.    197 

Norway  and  Sweden.  He  chose  a  very  suitable  man  for 
his  purpose,  just  as  Eugenius  III.  had  in  1152,  for  Cardinal 
William  of  Sabina  had  been  a  legate  in  Prussia  and  had 
visited  Gotland,  and  thus  had  come  in  contact  with  many 
Scandinavians,  though  he  had  never  been  in  Norway  itself. 

Haakon  had  now  gained  his  point,  and  had  indirectly 
won  a  victory  over  the  bishops  of  Norway.  He  called 
together  a  great  meeting  of  all  the  bishops,  chiefs,  and 
people  in  Bergen,  in  the  summer  of  1247  to  receive  the 
cardinal. 

We  learn  from  Matthew  Paris  that  William  of  Sabina 
passed  through  England  on  his  journey  as  legate  to  the 
North.  He  landed  at  Dover,  and  obtaining  permission 
from  Henry  III.  to  visit  the  country,  greeted  that  monarch 
and  received  substantial  presents  from  him.  The  cardinal 
remained  at  King's  Lynn  for  three  months,  and  during  his 
stay  there  "he  could  not  restrain  his  innate  Koman 
cupidity,"  and  succeeded  in  extracting  about  4,000  marks 
from  the  clergy  in  that  neighbourhood,  and  "often  preached 
to  the  people  under  pretence  of  piety."  Lynn  was  a  usual 
port  of  departure  for  Norway,  and  here  he  had  a  ship  well 
filled  with  corn  and  wine,  "  where,  as  we  read  in  the  case 
of  Noah's  ark,  there  were  passages  and  decks  one  above 
another,  chambers  and  dining-rooms.  In  this  manner, 
therefore,  having  become  rich,  he  committed  himself  to  the 
North  Sea  with  a  fair  wind  blowing,  after  bestowing  his 
blessing  on  England  and  the  prodigal  English." 

The  cardinal  arrived  in  Bergen  on  June  17th,  and  was 
received  with  great  honour  by  the  king.  The  bishops, 
however,  were  determined  to  make  one  more  effort.  They 
did  their  best  in  several  interviews  to  inflame  the  legate 
against  Haakon,  and  seemed  to  have  got  him  over  to 
their  side.  The  cardinal  then  suggested  to  the  king  that  it 
might  be  well  to  agree  to  Magnus  Erlingss0n's  oath. 
Haakon,  however,  boldly  told  him  that  he  knew  very  well 


198  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN   NORWAY. 

where  that  suggestion  came  from,  and  added,  "  I  will  have 
no  crown  if  it  costs  me  my  freedom."  The  prudent  legate 
saw  he  had  gone  too  far,  and  at  once  withdrew  his 
suggestion.  Great  preparations  were  now  made  for  the 
coronation,  which  was  fixed  for  St.  Olaf  s  day.  Archbishop 
Sigurd  and  five  of  his  suffragans,  the  bishops  of  Bergen, 
Stavanger,  Oslo,  Hamar,  and  Hole  (Iceland),  the  principal 
abbots,  and  all  the  great  chiefs  of  Norway  were  then  in  the 
city.  The  coronation  procession  to  Christ  Church  Cathedral 
was  one  of  great  magnificence.  Following  the  high  officials 
came  four  lendermcend,  bearing  aloft  the  coronation  robes, 
after  them  were  borne  two  silver  sceptres,  one  with  a  golden 
cross  on  it  and  another  with  an  eagle.  Next  came  the 
king's  son,  Haakon,  carrying  the  crown,  and  Jarl  Knut 
with  the  coronation  sword,  and  last  of  all  Archbishop 
Sigurd  and  King  Haakon,  with  two  bishops  as  his  supporters. 
At  the  palace  door  the  procession  was  joined  by  clergy 
intoning,  "Ecce  mitto  angelum  meum,"  and  thus  they  went 
to  the  cathedral,  where  they  were  met  at  the  door  by  the 
cardinal  and  two  bishops,  who  conducted  the  king  to  the 
altar.  During  the  Mass  the  king  was  crowned  with  the 
usual  solemnities. 

The  coronation  banquet  was  held  in  the  king's  boat- 
house,  there  being  no  other  building  large  enough  to  receive 
the  great  company.  After  the  feast  the  cardinal  made  a 
speech,  in  which  he  said  :  "  Now  is  your  king  crowned  and 
honoured  as  no  king  before  him  in  Norway ;  God  be  praised 
that  I  did  not  turn  back,  as  I  was  urged  to  do,  as  I  was 
told  that  I  would  not  see  many  people,  and  if  I  did, 
they  would  be  more  like  wild  beasts  than  men  in 
their  conduct,  but  now  I  see  a  great  company  of  people  all 
well  conducted  and  many  foreigners,  and  such  a  multitude 
of  ships  as  I  have  never  before  seen  in  one  harbour. " 

After  the  coronation  was  over  the  cardinal  did  not  forget 
the  other  part  of  his  mission — an  inquiry  into  the  state  of 


THE  CARDINAL'S  VISITATION.  199 

the  Church  in  Norway.  Lengthy  conferences  were  held  in 
Bergen  with  the  king  and  the  bishops,  and  various  abuses 
were  dealt  with,  and  complaints  on  the  part  of  the  people 
listened  to. 

It  was  found  that  the  bishops  had  been  accustomed  to 
appropriate  the  income  of  parishes  during  a  vacancy,  and 
this  practice  was  sternly  forbidden,  as  it  naturally  gave  an 
opening  for  abuses  and  might  delay  the  appointment  to  the 
parish.  It  was  ordered  that  when  a  parish  was  vacant 
some  one  was  at  once  to  be  appointed  to  hold  the  revenue 
during  the  vacancy,  and  to  hand  it  over,  with  a  proper 
account,  to  the  newly-appointed  priest,  and  specially  to 
guard  the  one-fourth  part  of  the  tithe  which  belonged  to 
the  parish  church. 

The  parish  priests  complained  about  the  enforced  hospi- 
tality which  they  had  to  offer  to  the  bishop's  officials  when 
he  did  not  come  himself  on  a  visitation.  This  was  forbidden, 
except  when  illness  or  the  king's  business  prevented  the 
bishop  coming.  The  b0nder  complained  about  the  fines 
which  were  levied  on  them  for  fishing  and  haymaking  upon 
holy  days,  and  asked  for  some  relief.  The  cardinal  recog- 
nized the  justice  of  the  claim  to  make  hay  while  the  sun 
shone,  and  also  to  secure  the  herrings,  "  sent  by  God,"  when 
they  approached  the  shores,  and  granted  this  request.^ 

Another  important  matter  which  was  decided  at  this 
time  was  the  entire  abolition  of  the  trial  by  ordeal,  which 
had  been,  not  long  before,  used  to  decide  the  question  of 
the  king's  parentage. 

So  ended  this  most  memorable  mission  of  William  of 
Sabina,  one  as  important  in  its  way  as  that  of  Nicholas 
Breakspeare  in  1152. 

The  cardinal  during  his  stay  in  Norway  contrived  to 
enrich  himself  considerably  at  the  expense  of  Church 

*  Archbishop  Eystein  had  obtained  from  the  pope  a  similar  con- 
cession for  Tr0ndelagen  in  his  time,  see  page  161. 


200  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

and  king,  as  he  had  previously  done  in  England.  For  the 
pope  he  is  said  to  have  received  a  sum  of  15,000  marks  of 
silver — a  welcome  contribution  to  the  papal  war  chest  at  the 
time  of  the  great  conflict  with  the  kaiser.  For  himself  he 
got  from  Haakon  1,500  marks,  and  500  marks  from  the 
Norwegian  Church,  in  addition  to  innumerable  smaller 
gifts. 

On  his  way  from  Norway  the  cardinal  called  at  Stavanger, 
T0nsberg,  Oslo,  and  Konghelle,  from  whence  he  passed  into 
Sweden.  The  legate's  view  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in 
Norway  is  contained  in  a  letter  of  August,  1247,  at  the 
close  of  his  mission.  In  this  he  mentions  that  he  found  it 
in  full  peaceable  and  quiet  possession  of  the  right  of 
judging  in  all  ecclesiastical  matters  between  all  persons 
whomsoever,  and  over  all  the  clergy,  in  questions  both 
spiritual  and  temporal,  or  with  regard  to  any  breach  of 
contract.  He  also  found  the  Norwegian  Church  exercised 
free  and  unfettered  rights  of  patronage  over  all  churches. 

The  election  of  the  bishops  was  also  free  from  the  inter- 
ference of  the  laity.  * 

How  far  the  legate  was  strictly  correct  in  his  statement 
seems  open  to  doubt.  The  Kristenret  certainly  did  not 
then  recognize  the  immunity  of  the  clergy  from  secular 
tribunals,  nor  had  the  king  abandoned  his  right  to  have  a 
voice  in  the  choice  of  the  bishops.  It  seems  likely  that 
the  cardinal's  letter  embodied  what  the  Church  wished  for, 
and  claimed,  more  than  what  it  actually  possessed  at  the 
time. 

William  of  Sabina  was  for  a  considerable  time  engaged 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  Sweden,  and  did  not  return 
to  the  papal  court  at  Lyons  until  1251,  where  he  died 
suddenly  in  the  same  year.  Haakon  was  now  in  a  position 
of  great  power  and  influence,  and  was  an  especial  favourite 

*  The  cardinal's  letter  will  be  found  in  the  Norges  Oamle  Love, 
Yol.  I.,  page  450. 


HAAKON  AND  THE  NORTH.  201 

of  the  pope.  Some  time  before  his  coronation  he  had  been 
urged  to  join  in  a  crusade,  and  though  he  had  promised  to 
do  so,  and  afterwards  (1248)  Louis  IX.  of  France  had 
urged  him  to  join  in  the  unfortunate  venture  in  which  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  yet  Haakon  never  fulfilled  his  promise. 
As  a  substitute  for  a  crusade  against  the  Saracens,  the 
pope  permitted  and  approved  of  one  against  Haakon's 
heathen  neighbours  in  the  north  of  Norway — the  Finns. 
Haakon,  however,  did  better  than  carrying  fire  and  sword 
amongst  them.  He  made  efforts  to  spread  Christianity  in 
those  regions  in  a  more  legitimate  way,  and  to  his  zeal  was 
due  the  foundation  of  churches  in  Troms0  and  in  Ofoten ; 
the  former  was  for  a  long  time  the  most  northern  Christian 
church  in  the  world.  He  also  received  a  tribe  of  Finns 
from  Eussia,  whom  the  Tartars  had  driven  out,  and  allowed 
them  to  settle  in  Malangen,  where  he  had  them  baptized. 

The  remaining  years  of  the  long  reign  of  Haakon  were  not 
marked  by  any  very  important  ecclesiastical  events,  though 
there  are  several  points  of  interest  in  the  dealings  between 
the  king  and  the  Church,  some  of  which  were  in  progress 
before  the  time  of  the  mission  of  Cardinal  William  of 
Sabina. 

Later  writers  and  legislative  enactments  frequently  refer 
to  the  Kristenret  "  of  King  Haakon  Haakonss0n,  and 
Archbishop  Sigurd."  It  would  seem  that  this  was  not  a 
new  enactment,  but  rather  a  rearrangement  and  adaptation 
of  the  older  laws,  to  bring  them  into  conformity  with  the 
alterations  agreed  upon  in  the  relations  of  the  Church  and 
the  State.  There  were,  as  we  have  seen,  a  number  of  laws 
relating  to  matters  ecclesiastical  dating  from  the  time  of 
St.  Olaf  downwards,  and  the  last  was  the  collection  known 
as  the  "  Golden  Feather  "  of  Archbishop  Eystein.  Haakon 
and  the  archbishop  revised  and  enlarged  these,  and  they 
were  accepted  as  a  part  of  the  Frosta  Thing's  law.  The 
exact  date  of  this  work  is  uncertain,  but  its  approximate 


202  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

date  can  be  ascertained  by  the  fact  that  trial  by  ordeal  was 
still  recognized,  and  we  therefore  may  conclude  with 
certainty  that  it  was  prior  to  1247,  when  that  method  was 
abolished  at  the  time  of  William  of  Sabina's  mission. 

Another  important  event,  both  ecclesiastical  and  civil, 
which  marked  the  reign  of  Haakon  was  the  practical  union 
of  Norway  and  Iceland.  That  remarkable  island  had,  from 
the  time  of  its  first  colonization,  from  Norway,  in  the  days 
of  Harald  Haarfagre,  maintained  a  sturdy  independence  of 
the  rule  of  the  Norwegian  kings,  though  there  was  a  very 
close  connection  between  it  and  the  mother  country,  and  the 
Church  there,  with  the  two  dioceses  of  Skaalholt  and  Hole, 
formed  a  part  of  the  province  of  Nidaros,  together  with  the 
more  distant  Greenland. 

One  of  the  most  famous  bishops  was  Thorlak  Thorhallss0n. 
This  man  was  born  in  1133  and  ordained  priest  in  1152, 
and  spent  several  years  in  studying  abroad — first  at  Paris 
and  afterwards,  from  1158  to  1160,  at  Lincoln,  then  famous 
as  a  school  of  learning  in  theology  and  canon  law.  In  1178 
he  was  consecrated  at  Nidaros  as  bishop  of  Skaalholt.  He 
was  the  great  ecclesiastical  legislator  of  Iceland,  and  com- 
piled a  Kristenret  for  that  country.  After  his  death  in  1 1 93 
he  was  reverenced  as  a  saint  by  the  Icelanders,  but  was 
never  canonized  at  Rome.  The  unhappy  state  of  affairs  in 
Norway  during  the  civil  wars  reacted  upon  Iceland,  and  the 
island  was  in  a  disturbed  state.  During  the  reign  of 
Haakon  lived  the  famous  Snorre  Sturlass0n,  the  writer  of 
the  great "  Heimskringla  "  (a  history  of  the  Norwegian  race 
from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  battle  of  Re,  at  T0nsberg 
in  1177),  which  derived  its  name  from  the  first  word  in 
the  book,  which  means  the  world's  circle.  He  became  by 
degrees  a  very  wealthy  man,  and  had  large  possessions  in 
the  island.  During  a  visit  to  Norway,  early  in  Haakon's 
reign,  he  promised  to  use  his  influence  to  bring  the 
Icelanders  to  accept  the  overlordship  of  Haakon,  but 


ICELANDIC  BISHOPRICS.  203 

on  his  return  there  in  1220  he  did  nothing  to  fulfil  his 
promise. 

In  the  conflict  between  Haakon  and  Skule,  Snorre  seems 
to  have  sided  with  the  latter,  and  Haakon,  after  the  death 
of  Skule,  determined  to  punish  him.  He  sent  orders  to 
Snorre's  enemy,  Gissur  Thorvaldss0n,  to  arrest  or  kill  the 
historian,  and  Gissur  attacked  and  killed  Snorre  in  his 
home  at  Reykjaholt  in  1241. 

The  king  and  Sigurd  felt  that  it  would  conduce  to  the 
securing  of  the  supremacy  of  the  island,  if  they  were  able  to 
bring  the  Icelandic  bishops  into  more  direct  obedience  to 
the  see  of  Nidaros,  and  not  leave  them  in  the  position 
which  the  bishops  of  Norway  occupied  during  the  Bremen 
metropolitanship. 

An  opportunity  occurred  in  1237,  when  it  happened  that 
both  of  the  Icelandic  bishoprics  were  vacant — that  of 
Skaalholt  by  the  death  of  Magnus  Gissurss0n,  who  was  the 
last  married  bishop  in  Iceland. 

To  the  vacancies  were  nominated  two  priests  named 
Magnus  and  Bj0rn,  and  they  came  to  Nidaros  to  be  con- 
secrated by  Sigurd.  The  archbishop,  however,  on  the 
ground  of  their  election  being  invalid,  refused  to  do  so,  and 
applied  to  Pope  Gregory  IX.,  who  in  August,  1237, 
ordered  him  to  suspend  both  of  the  bishops-elect.  Bj0rn 
went  to  Rome  to  plead  his  cause,  but  died  on  the  way  back ; 
and  Magnus  went  back  to  Iceland,  where  he  was  afterwards 
drowned.  Then  the  archbishop  decided  to  fill  up  the 
vacancies  himself,  and  consecrated  two  Norwegians,  Sigurd 
of  Selje  to  Skaalholt,  and  Botolf  of  Elgesseter  to  Hole,  and 
sent  them  to  Iceland,  where  they  were  accepted.  Still 
Iceland  remained  independent,  but  a  gradual  movement 
towards  acknowledging  the  authority  of  the  Norwegian 
king  went  on.  William  of  Sabina  is  said  to  have  strongly 
urged  the  Icelanders  to  submit  to  Haakon.  Finally,  in 
1256,  a  part  of  Iceland  agreed  to  pay  skat  to  Haakon,  and 


204  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

in  1262  the  remainder  of  the  island  acknowledged  Haakon's 
sovereignty.  The  country,  however,  still  retained  its  own 
self-government  and  laws.  In  1262  Greenland  came  also 
under  the  supremacy  of  Norway. 

Archbishop  Sigurd,  who  had  occupied  such  a  prominent 
place  in  the  history  of  his  time,  died  in  1252,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  S0rle  of  Hamar,  who  only  lived  a  year  after  his 
consecration  and  died  in  1254,  and  was  followed  by 
Einar  Gunnarss0n,  a  member  of  a  well-known  family  in 
Tr0ndelagen. 

The  new  archbishop  urged  upon  the  king  the  great 
importance  of  making  provision  for  the  succession  of  his 
two  sons  during  his  lifetime,  so  as  to  avoid  disputes,  but  the 
king  would  not  take  any  definite  step.  In  1257  the  king's 
eldest  son,  Haakon,  died,  and  one  difficulty  respecting  the 
succession  was  removed.  The  question,  however,  was  not 
allowed  to  drop,  for  experience  showed  how  dangerous 
to  the  peace  of  the  country  was  a  doubtful  law  of  succes- 
sion, as  the  older  one  of  the  days  of  St.  Olaf,  and  the  more 
recent  one  which  the  bishops  and  Archbishop  Eystein  in  the 
time  of  Magnus  Erlingss0n  and  his  father,  Erling  Skakke, 
were  not  in  agreement.  The  latter,  which  we  have  at 
the  commencement  of  the  older  Gula  Thing's  law,  decreed 
that  he  should  be  king  of  Norway  who  was  the  legitimate 
son  of  the  king  of  Norway,  except  in  cases  of  imbecility  or 
vicious  living,  when  the  archbishop,  bishops,  &c.,  were 
to  choose  another  son  of  the  same  father,*  or  the  next- 
of-kin. 

This  law,  as  we  have  seen,  was  strenuously  and  success- 
fully contested  by  Sverre  and  others,  and  illegitimacy  was 
not  an  obstacle  to  succession. 

In  1260  the  king  and  the  archbishop  again  discussed  the 
matter,  and  finally  an  agreement  was  arrived  at  and  a  new 

*  Provision  was  also  made  for  the  temporary  filling  of  the  throne 
if  the  king  was  absent  from  the  land. 


NEW  LAW  OF  SUCCESSION.  205 

law  promulgated  at  the  Frosta  Tiling.  There  we  read  that 
the  king,  "  with  the  counsel  and  consent  of  his  son,  King 
Magnus,  Archbishop  Einar,  his  suffragans,  lendermcend, 
clergy,  decreed  that  he  should  be  king  in  Norway  who  was 
the  king  of  Norway's  eldest  legitimate  son,  but  if  there  is 
no  legitimate  son,  then  shall  the  king's  son  be  king  although 
he  be  not  legitimate  ;  and  if  there  be  none  of  these,  he  shall 
be  king  of  Norway  who  is  Odel  born  and  next-of-kin  and  of 
the  royal  race." 

This  law  was  finally  accepted  by  the  various  Things  of 
Norway,  and  became  henceforth  recognized  as  the  law  of 
succession.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  arrangement  arrived 
at,  after  long  years  of  struggle,  was  a  compromise.  The 
Church  had  hitherto  insisted  that  only  the  legitimate  son 
should  succeed,  whereas  the  old  law  of  succession  from 
St.  Olaf  s  days  did  not  insist  on  this  as  a  necessary  qualifi- 
cation. Henceforth  the  legitimate  son  must  be  king,  if 
there  be  one  surviving,  but  failing  a  legitimate  heir,  the  old 
custom  was  allowed  to  stand.  The  absolute  claim  of  the 
hierarchy  to  arrange  the  succession  was  thus,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  restricted ;  whilst  at  the  same  time  their  contention 
that  the  legitimate  son  should  be  king  was  recognized. 

Haakon  was  able  to  induce  the  b0nder  of  the  south 
to  make  a  new  offering  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Church 
in  Trondhjem  and  Oslo.  It  was  agreed  that  a  penny  for 
each  head  of  cattle  on  a  farm  should  be  contributed,  and 
thus  divided— two-thirds  to  the  support  of  the  Dom  kirke 
at  Nidaros  this  was  known  as  the  Olaf  s  skat,  and  one- 
third  to  Oslo,  called  the  Halvard's  skat. 

In  1261,  at  the  marriage  of  Haakon's  son  Magnus,  to 
Ingeborg,  daughter  of  the  Danish  king,  a  very  unusual 
course  was  taken.  It  was  suggested  that  Magnus  and  his 
wife  should  be  crowned ;  he  had  already,  as  we  have  seen, 
been  named  as  king  by  the  Thing,  but  a  coronation  was  an 
entirely  new  departure.  After  some  consideration,  Haakon 


206  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

consented,  and  the  ceremony  was  performed  by  Archbishop 
Einar. 

In  the  summer  of  1263  King  Haakon  sailed  with  a  large 
fleet  and  army  to  Scotland,  to  enforce  his  supremacy  over 
the  Hebrides.  A  fierce  but  indecisive  battle  was  fought 
at  Largs,  in  the  Clyde,  and  afterwards  Haakon  and  his  fleet 
retired  to  the  Orkneys  for  the  winter.  Here  Haakon  died 
on  December  23rd,  1263,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  having  held 
the  throne  of  Norway  for  the  long  period  of  forty-six  years  ; 
his  body  was  in  the  spring  brought  to  Bergen  and  buried 
in  Christ  Church  Cathedral,  where  his  famous  grandfather 
was  interred.  Archbishop  Einar  died  in  Norway  a  few 
months  before  the  king. 

During  the  reign  of  Haakon  the  monastic  orders  in 
Norway  were  reinforced  by  the  introduction  of  the  two 
recently-founded  orders  of  the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans. 
The  first  Dominican  in  Norway  was  a  monk  named 
Salomon,  who  was  driven  there  by  stress  of  weather  on 
a  voyage  to  Denmark,  and  who,  in  Jarl  Skule's  time, 
visited  Nidaros,  where  he  was  favourably  received.  The 
order  quickly  gained  ground  in  Norway,  and  in  1240  had 
monasteries  in  Nidaros,  Bergen,  and  Oslo. 

The  Franciscans  seem  to  have  come  first  in  1230,  and  they 
soon  had  monasteries  in  Konghelle,  T0nsberg,  and  Bergen. 

Some  very  interesting  papal  letters  were  sent  to  Norway 
during  the  reign  of  Haakon  and  his  immediate  prede- 
cessor, and  they  throw  a  curious  light  on  the  life  of  the 
people,  especially  in  the  remoter  dioceses  in  the  widespread 
province  of  Nidaros.  The  archbishop  in  1205  applied  to 
the  pope  (Innocent  III.)  to  know  whether  it  was  per- 
missible to  substitute  beer  for  water  as  the  "  matter "  in 
holy  baptism.  We  might  naturally  imagine  that  what- 
ever else  were  wanting  in  Norway  water  was  always  pro- 
curable. The  pope,  however,  was  quite  clear  in  his  reply 
that  nothing  but  water  could  be  used  in  the  administration 


PAPAL  LETTERS  TO  NORWAY.  207 

of  this  sacrament.  It  is  curious  that  this  question  was 
more  than  once  submitted  to  the  papal  decision,  for  we 
find  again,  in  1241,  Gregory  IX.  writes  an  almost  similar 
letter  to  Archbishop  Sigurd,  and  lays  down  the  same 
rule  as  his  predecessor. 

Another  question  was  submitted  to  Gregory  IX.  with 
respect  to  the  elements  in  the  Holy  Communion.  The 
archbishop  inquired  whether,  when  the  Eucharist  was 
wanting  (deficiente  eucharistia) ,  owing  to  the  lack  of  corn 
and  wine,  they  might  communicate  the  people  with  any 
other  sort  of  bread,  along  with  beer  or  any  other  drink. 
The  pope  replied  that  neither  one  nor  the  other  was  to  be 
done  under  any  circumstances  (quod  neutrum  est  penitus 
faciendum),  but  that  the  form  should  be  "  visibilis  panis 
de  frumento  et  vini  de  uvis."  He  concludes  by  saying 
that,  as  had  become  the  custom  in  other  places,  "panis 
simpliciter  benedictus "  could  be  given  to  the  people.^ 
The  meaning  of  this  suggestion  seems  to  be  that  the  poor 
faithful  in  the  remote  dioceses  would  have  to  be  contented 
with  the  "oblata,"  or  the  pain  Uni  of  France. 

With  reference  to  the  long-standing  question  of  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy,  and  the  supposed  permission  of 
Cardinal  Nicholas  Breakspeare  for  the  priests  to  contract 
matrimony,  Gregory  IX.  wrote  (in  May,  1237)  to  Arch- 
bishop Sigurd  to  sternly  forbid  the  practice.  In  his  letter 
he  says  that  they  could  show  no  documentary  evidence 
whatever  for  this,  and  that  his  predecessor  of  blessed 
memory  could  not  have  granted  permission  for  such  an 
enormity.  The  plea  of  ancient  custom  urged  by  the  clergy, 
instead  of  improving,  made  matters  worse — " peccatum  non 
minuat  sed  augmentet." 

The  reign  of  Haakon  was  on  the  whole  a  very  prosperous 
time  for  Norway,  and  after  the  death  of  Duke  Skule,  in 

*  The  pope's  letter  will  be  found  in  Norges  Gamle  Love,  Vol.  IV., 
page  108,  and  in  "  Diplomatarium  Norvegicum,"  Vol.  I.,  No.  16. 


208  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

1240,  when  his  power  was  fully  established,  he  became  a 
person  of  great  importance  in  the  North.  He  was  in  very 
great  favour  with  the  Popes  Gregory  IX.  and  Innocent  IV., 
and  the  latter  tried  to  induce  him  to  join  in  an  attack  on 
Frederick  II.,  and  also  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Imperial 
crown  ;  but  Haakon  had  no  intention  of  entertaining  such  a 
project,  and  shrewdly  declared  that  "he  was  ready  to  fight 
against  the  enemies  of  the  Church,  but  not  all  of  the  Pope's."  * 
His  alliance  was  esteemed  by  many  of  the  princes  of 
Europe,  and  his  daughter  Christina  was  married  to  Prince 
Philip  of  Castile,  the  brother  of  Alfonso  the  Wise.  It  was 
this  marriage  which  led  to  the  building  of  a  church 
dedicated  to  St.  Olaf  in  Spain,  as  the  princess  begged  her 
husband  to  erect  a  church  to  the  honour  of  the  patron 
saint  of  her  native  land,  which  it  seems  he  did. 

*  "  This,  the  said  king  declared  to  me,  Matthew,  who  wrote  this,  and 
attested  it  with  a  great  oath." — Matthew  Paris  (Bohn's  edition,  Yol.  II., 
page  415). 


From  a  Photograph  by] 


ST.    OLAF. 


[T.  OlafWillson. 


From  a    Wooden    Figure  (15th    Century)    originally  in  Fjeld 
Church,  Spiidhordland,  now  in  Bergen  Museum. 


[To  face  2J.  208. 


fQ 

f  UNIVERSITY  1 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MAGNUS  LAGAB0TER  AND  THE  T0NSBERG  CONCORDAT 
—ERIK    PRESTEHADER. 

Jon  Raude,  Archbishop — Magnus's  Codification  of  the  Law — The 
T0nsberg  Concordat — Its  Terms — Death  of  Magnus — Erik  PresU- 
hader  Succeeds — Conflict  between  the  Regents  and  the  Archbishop 
— Jon  Flies  to  Sweden  and  Dies  there — The  Pope  Appoints,  per 
provisionem,  Bishop  J0rund  as  Primate — The  Provincial  Council 
of  Nidaros — Disputes  in  the  Church — Death  of  Erik. 

No  more  striking  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  Haakon 
Haakonss0n's  legislation  respecting  the  succession  to  the 
crown  could  have  been  shown,  than  the  peaceable  way  in 
which  his  son  Magnus  succeeded  his  father  on  the  throne. 
The  new  monarch  had  been  accepted  as  his  father's 
successor  during  Haakon's  lifetime,  and,  unlike  any  former 
king  of  Norway,  had  already  received  his  crown.  Magnus 
was  at  home  when  his  father  died,  having  been  left  in 
charge  of  the  country  when  the  expedition  to  Scotland 
started.  The  new  king  inherited  much  of  the  ability  of 
his  race,  but  was  of  a  more  yielding  disposition  than  his 
father,  and  above  all  things  wished  to  live  in  peace  with 
those  around  him.  His  early  education,  which  had  pro- 
ceeded almost  on  the  same  lines  as  if  he  were  intended  for 
holy  orders,  had  made  him  a  man  of  very  considerable 
learning,  and  also  inclined  to  listen  most  favourably  to  the 
demands  of  the  Church.  Above  all  things,  the  desire  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  his  people  and  fulfil  the  responsi- 
bilities of  his  royal  office  was  the  ambition  of  his  life.  He 
is  known  in  history  as  Magnus  Lagab0ter  (the  improver  of 
the  laws),  a  title  of  which  any  king  might  well  be  proud. 

O.S.N.  P 


210  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

The  death  of  Einar  left  the  see  of  Nidaros  vacant  at  the 
time  of  Magnus's  accession,  and  the  chapter  then  elected 
Birger,  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Tautra,  near  Nidaros. 
This  man  was  the  son  of  a  priest  (a  circumstance  which 
was  not  likely  to  make  him  favourably  received  at  Rome), 
and  required,  as  in  the  case  of  Haavard  of  Bergen,* 
a  papal  dispensation  before  he  could  be  consecrated. 
Birger  went  to  Rome  in  1264,  but  just  at  the  time  he  got 
there  Urban  IV.  died,  and  the  new  pope,  Clement  IV.,  did 
not  succeed  until  February,  1265.  Strange  to  say,  nothing 
more  is  heard  of  Birger,  who  probably  died  at  Rome ;  and 
we  find  Urban  IV.  (possibly  to  punish  the  Nidaros  chapter 
for  electing  Birger)  handing  over  the  choice  of  a  new 
archbishop  to  the  heads  of  four  of  the  chief  monastic 
orders  in  Norway.  These  men  selected  Haakon,  bishop 
of  Oslo,  for  the  metropolitan  see.  As  he  was  already  a 
bishop  it  was  not  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  Rome  for 
consecration,  and  the  pallium  did  not  arrive  for  him  in 
Norway  until  1267,  when  it  was  brought  there  by  a 
member  of  the  Nidaros  chapter,  Jon  Raude  (Red  John), 
who  came  with  it  in  January,  1267.  The  new  archbishop, 
however,  only  lived  until  the  August  following,  and  Jon 
Raude  was  elected  as  his  successor,  and  went  to  Rome  for 
consecration  in  1268,  and  then  returned  to  his  see. 

The  war  with  Scotland,  which  the  king  had  inherited 
from  his  father,  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  in  1266  by 
the  Treaty  of  Perth,  in  which  Magnus,  in  exchange  for  his 
nominal  rule  over  the  Hebrides  and  Man,  was  to  receive 
an  annual  tribute  from  the  Scottish  kings,  as  well  as  a 
sum  of  money  to  be  paid  down.  It  is  remarkable  that  in 
this  treaty,  while  the  Norwegian  rule  over  the  Hebrides 
ceased,  the  authority  of  the  see  of  Nidaros  over  the 
diocese  of  Sodor  (Norwegian,  Suder0erne)  and  Man  still 
remained. 

*  See  page  190. 


ONE  LAW  FOR  NORWAY.  211 

After  having  obtained  peace,  King  Magnus  set  himself 
to  carry  out  his  great  design  of  having  but  one  law  for 
the  whole  of  Norway.  Hitherto,  as  we  have  seen,  there 
were  practically  four  parliaments  or  Things  which  legis- 
lated for  the  land — the  Frosta  Thing  for  the  north,  the 
Gula  Thing  for  the  west,  and  the  Eidsiva  and  Borgar 
Things  for  the  central  and  south-eastern  parts,  the  Oplands 
and  Viken,  &c. 

The  king,  in  his  journeys,  explained  his  project  to  the 
different  Things,  and  they  expressed  their  willingness  to 
comply  with  his  wishes.  But  now  a  difficulty  arose.  In  all 
the  old  laws  of  the  four  legislative  assemblies  there  were 
from  the  time  of  St.  Olaf  two  divisions,  the  general  civil 
law  and  the  Kristenret,  and  any  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  Things  to  deal  with  the  latter  at  once  aroused  the 
hostility  of  the  Church.  The  new  archbishop,  Jon  Raude, 
had  not  spent  his  time  in  Rome,  without  being  well 
indoctrinated  with  the  papal  theories  of  the  relations  of 
the  Church  to  the  State,  and  in  him,  Magnus  found  an 
opponent.  The  king  had  secured  the  adhesion  of  the 
southern  Things  to  his  scheme  in  the  years  1267 — 8,  and 
the  new  archbishop  arrived  back  in  Norway  in  time  for 
the  meeting  of  the  Frosta  Thing  in  1269.  The  theory  of 
the  archbishop  was  that  while  the  king  could  promulgate 
laws  for  the  State,  it  was  the  sole  province  of  the  Church 
to  legislate  in  all  ecclesiastical  matters.  The  consequence 
of  the  primate's  opposition  was,  that  the  new  code  of  laws 
was  issued  without  practically  any  ecclesiastical  section, 
and  only  contained  a  confession  of  faith,  and  a  recognition 
of  the  royal  authority  to  legislate  for  the  State,  and  of  the 
Church  to  deal  with  all  things  relating  to  its  government. 
Magnus's  new  code  was  finally  published  and  accepted 
for  the  whole  country  about  the  year  1274.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  Church  had  now  gained  a  very  important 
victory  over  the  State,  in  the  recognition  of  its  power  to 

P2 


212  CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

legislate  for  all  ecclesiastical  affairs,  and  the  time  was  now 
opportune  for  insisting  on  a  full  recognition  of  its  rights 
from  the  king  and  nation. 

The  interregnum  which  followed  the  death  of  Pope 
Clement  IV.  was  terminated  by  the  election  of  Gregory  X. 
in  1271,  and  in  the  following  year  the  new  pope  issued 
the  summonses  for  the  general  council,  to  be  held  at 
Lyons  in  1274.  To  this,  of  course,  the  Norwegian  primate 
and  his  suffragans  were  called,  and  the  archbishop,  like 
the  other  metropolitans,  was  required  to  report  on  the 
state  of  the  Church  in  his  province. 

It  seemed  well  to  both  parties  in  Norway  that  some 
formal  agreement,  with  regard  to  the  relations  of  the 
Church  to  the  State,  should  be  arrived  at  before  the 
council  met,  and  be  there  submitted  to  the  pope  for  his 
approval.  With  this  end  in  view  the  archbishop  called  a 
provincial  council  to  meet  in  Bergen  in  1273,  and  the  king 
summoned  all  the  principal  men  of  the  kingdom  at  the 
same  time.  After  a  long  discussion  a  number  of  articles 
were  agreed  upon  between  the  representatives  of  the  Church 
and  State,  which  were,  on  the  whole,  very  favourable  to 
the  claims  of  the  former. 

With  this  agreement  the  archbishop  and  bishops  went 
to  the  council  at  Lyons,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
general  business  of  the  assembly,  the  Bergen  agreement 
was  submitted  to  Gregory  X.  for  his  sanction.  The  pope 
approved  all  that  had  been  done,  but  added  some  new 
clauses,  which  included  the  offering  of  the  king's  crown  on 
the  altar  at  Nidaros  and  the  giving  over  to  the  Church  (in 
the  case  of  a  minority  of  the  Crown)  the  government  of 
the  country.  Magnus,  who  was  most  willing  to  grant 
great  privileges  to  the  Church,  was,  however,  quite  firm  in 
rejecting  these  additions  of  the  pope,  and  things  were 
now  as  they  had  been  before  the  meeting  of  the  general 
council. 


THE  T0NSBERG  CONCORDAT.         213 

Both  parties,  however,  desired  peace,  and  the  archbishop 
was  fully  cognizant  of  the  greatness  of  the  concessions  he 
had  received,  and  did  not  wish  to  drive  matters  too  far  ; 
and  the  king  was  willing  to  give  all  he  could,  without 
encroaching  too  much  on  the  royal  prerogative. 

A  new  meeting  was  therefore  called  at  T0nsberg  in  1277, 
at  which  all  the  representatives  of  the  Church  and  State 
were  present,  and  what  is  known  in  history  as  the  "  T0nsberg 
Concordat  "  was  agreed  upon.  The  principal  points  of  this 
new  settlement,  which  was  practically  the  same  as  that 
arrived  at  in  Bergen  in  1273,  with  a  few  modifications, 
were  as  follows  : — * 

1.  The  archbishop,  on  behalf  of  the  Church,  abandoned 
all  claim  to  choose  the  king,  and  to  insist  on  the  offering  of 
the  crown  at  Nidaros,  so  long  as  there  was  a  lawful  heir  to 
the  throne.     But  failing  such  heir,  the  archbishop  and  the 
bishops  were  to  have  a  preponderating  voice  in  the  choice 
of  the   king;    but  they   were,   in   such  case,  to  make  a 
declaration   that   they   acted   solely  for   the   good  of  the 
kingdom. 

2.  The  clergy  were  to  be  entirely  exempt  from  lay  juris- 
diction of  all  kinds,  even  when  there  were  cases  in  which 
a  layman  was  involved.    Also  all  cases  of  which  the  Church 
had  any  cognizance  by  canon  law — e.g.,   marriage,  wills, 
patronage,  tithes,  oaths,  Church  property,  perjury,  simony, 
public  morals,  &c. — were  to  come  before  the  ecclesiastical 
courts. 

3.  The  right  of  patronage  to  churches  of  all  kinds  was 
handed  over  to  the  bishops. 

4.  The  election  of  bishops  and  abbots  to  be  free  from  all 
interference.      The  nominee,  however,  before  his  election 
was  confirmed,  had  to  inform  the  king,  who  had  a  right  to 
protest  against  the  candidate. 

*  The  Latin  original  will  be  found  in  the  Norges  GamU  Love, 
Vol.  II.,  page  462. 


214  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

5.  All  ecclesiastical  persons  were  exempted  from  military 
service,  except  in  cases  of  great  emergency,  approved  by 
the  bishop. 

Other  articles  allowed  the  archbishop  a  retinue  of  one 
hundred  men,  and  the  bishops  forty.  The  archbishop's 
rights  to  export  corn  to,  and  to  trade  in  falcons  from, 
Iceland  were  confirmed,  also  his  privilege  of  coining  money. 
Pilgrims  were  to  be  protected. 

Finally  it  was  agreed  that  in  all  disputes  arising  from 
this  concordat  the  archbishop  and  the  king  should  each 
appoint  a  man  to  decide  all  questions,  and  if  they  could 
not  agree  a  third  person  was  to  be  called  in. 

It  will  at  once  be  seen,  when  we  contrast  these  terms 
with  the  points  in  dispute  since  the  time  of  Sverre,  what 
a  striking  victory  the  Church  had  won,  and  how  much  the 
ecclesiastical  power  had  gained  from  the  State.  It  is  true 
the  archbishop  was  not  able  to  extort  from  the  king  the 
submission  which  had  been  demanded  from  Magnus 
Erlingss0n.  In  spite  of  his  gentle  and  peace-loving  nature, 
he  had  enough  of  the  spirit  of  Sverre,  and  of  his  father,  to 
refuse  to  hold  his  kingdom  as  a  grant  from  the  Church. 
Nevertheless  the  Church  had  received  an  enormous  increase 
of  her  power,  and  gained  privileges  and  control  over  the 
laity  above  that  which  was  enjoyed  in  almost  any  other 
country  in  Europe.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  this 
concordat  was  completed  and  sworn  to  by  both  parties, 
without  any  consultation  with,  or  sanction  of,  the  pope, 
and  at  the  same  time  his  additions  to  the  Bergen  agree- 
ment of  1273,  were  abandoned  by  the  Church. 

The  chiefs  of  Norway  agreed  very  unwillingly  to  the 
terms  of  the  concordat,  but  they  did  so  in  the  interests  of 
peace,  and  the  hope  of  finally  putting  an  end  to  the  dis- 
putes, which  had  lasted  so  long  and  done  so  much  harm. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  King  Magnus,  probably  with  a 
desire  to  strengthen  the  power  and  authority  of  the  chiefs, 


DEATH   OP  MAGNUS  LAGAB0TER.  215 

gave  them  new  titles.  The  lendermcend,  or  feudatories,  were 
henceforth  called  barons,  and  the  hirdmcend,  or  king's 
special  followers,  attached  to  the  court,  were  named 
knights.  From  this  time  a  special  caste  of  nobility  began 
to  arise  in  Norway,  different  from  the  ancient  days  when 
all  b0nder  were  equal,  and  the  chiefs  were  generally  the 
b0nder  who  owned  the  greatest  possessions. 

Magnus,  in  a  well-meant  endeavour  to  conciliate  the 
Church,  took  the  very  unpopular  step  of  extending  tithe 
to  all  kinds  of  produce,  both  of  land  and  sea,  and  he  also 
conferred  many  extra  privileges  upon  the  archbishop  and 
bishops. 

These  various  concessions  and  privileges,  which  the 
Church  had  obtained  through  the  mediumship  of  Arch- 
bishop Jon,  were  not  likely  to  remain  unused.  The 
archbishop  at  once  set  to  work  to  have  his  new  ecclesiastical 
law,  based  on  the  Concordat,  formally  promulgated.  With 
this  in  view  he  summoned  a  provincial  council  to  meet  in 
Bergen  in  the  summer  of  1280,  and  the  king  called  all 
the  chiefs  at  the  same  time,  with  the  intention  of  having 
his  young  son  Erik  crowned  there. 

King  Magnus,  in  spite  of  the  great  concessions  he  had 
made,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  hopeful  that  they 
would  finally  settle  all  disputes.  "  Wait  until  I  am  three 
years  dead  and  you  will  see,"  were  his  foreboding  words 
to  his  followers  when  they  spoke  of  the  matter. 

Magnus  did  not  live  to  see  the  council.  He  had  ]ong 
been  ailing,  and  died  in  Bergen  on  the  9th  of  May,  1280, 
at  the  early  age  of  42  years.  He  was  hardly  a  strong 
enough  man  for  the  difficult  part  he  had  to  play,  and  his 
love  of  peace  often  led  him  to  give  way,  when  perhaps  the 
interests  of  his  kingdom  demanded  firmness.  The  great 
work  of  his  reign  was  his  securing  one  Jaw  for  the  whole 
kingdom,  for  which  he  well  deserved  to  be  held  in  honour 
by  all  his  people. 


216  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 


It  was  during  this  reign  that  the  Hanseatic  League 
gained  a  footing  in  Norway,  and  though  it  led  to  an 
increase  of  trade,  it  ended  by  the  foreigners  getting  it  all 
into  their  own  hands,  to  the  manifest  injury  of  the  country, 
until  at  last  the  power  of  the  great  league  was  broken. 
The  trade  of  Norway  with  England  had  considerably 
increased  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  from  the  year  1200 
there  was  free  trade  between  the  two  countries. 

The  death  of  Magnus  Lagab0ter  left  the  Norwegian 
Church  at  the  summit  of  its  power.  By  the  Concordat  of 
T0nsberg  it  had  gained  a  great  victory  over  the  State, 
which  the  subsequent  grants  of  the  king  confirmed  and 
strengthened.  But  the  very  completeness  of  the  victory 
contained  the  elements  which  led  to  the  subsequent  loss  of 
power  ;  and  the  grants  of  the  king,  especially  in  the  matter 
of  tithes,  aroused  a  very  deep  feeling  of  resentment  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  which  before  long  made  itself  felt. 

At  first,  however,  the  power  of  the  Church  appeared  to 
be  supreme.  The  council,  and  the  meeting  of  the  chiefs, 
assembled  in  Bergen,  where  the  archbishop  arrived  on 
June  16th,  1280.  The  first  business  which  came  before  the 
meeting  was,  in  consequence  of  Magnus's  death,  the  corona- 
tion of  his  son  Erik,*  who  was  then  a  boy  of  only  twelve 
years  of  age.  The  late  king  had  intended  to  have  had  his 
son  crowned  (following  the  precedent  in  his  own  case)  on 
June  24th,  but  difficulties  arose  between  the  chiefs  (or 
barons  as  they  were  now  called)  and  the  archbishop 
respecting  the  coronation  oath.  The  form  in  which  the 
archbishop  wished  it,  was  very  unpalatable  to  the  chiefs  ; 
but  they  did  not  feel  themselves  at  the  time,  strong  enough 
to  do  more  than  object  to  its  terms,  and  the  archbishop  had 

*  The  name  Prestehader  (the  priest  hater),  by  which  Erik  is  known, 
seems  to  be  quite  undeserved.  The  conflicts  with  the  Church  were 
fiercest  during  his  minority,  and  when  he  came  of  age  his  influence  was 
always  on  the  side  of  peace  and  moderation. 


CORONATION  OF  ERIK.  217 

his  way.  Erik  was  crowned  in  the  cathedral  on  July  2nd, 
and  took  the  following  oath  :  "  To  the  bishops  and  clergy 
I  shall  yield  all  fitting  honour,  and  I  shall  hold  intact  what 
has  been  given  by  the  kings  to  the  Church  in  accordance 
with  the  compact  between  the  Church  and  the  kingdom. 
Wrong  laws  and  bad  customs — namely,  those  which  are 
against  the  freedom  of  the  holy  Church — I  shall  abolish 
and  ordain  better  ones."  This  oath,  by  an  oversight  on 
the  part  of  the  archbishop,  was  not,  as  usual  in  the  case 
of  a  minority,  sworn  by  the  chiefs,  to  whom,  along  with 
the  queen  mother,  Ingeborg,  the  regency  during  the  king's 
minority  was  committed. 

The  archbishop  now  proceeded  with  his  council,  which 
was  attended  by  all  the  bishops  of  Norway,  and  also  those 
of  Skaalholt  and  Hole,  in  Iceland,  and  the  bishops  of  the 
Fseroe  Islands  and  Sodor  and  Man.  The  council  drew  up 
a  number  of  regulations  with  reference  to  the  ban  of  the 
Church,  which  was  to  be  pronounced  against  any  one  who 
dared  to  infringe  on  the  terms  of  the  T0nsberg  Concordat, 
or  who  brought  the  clergy  into  any  civil  court  of  law,  &c. 
He  was  also  anxious  to  have  his  new  version  of  the 
Kristenret  fully  confirmed  and  adopted. 

But  already  the  reaction  had  begun,  and  the  archbishop 
found  he  had  not  to  deal  with  a  young  lad,  but  with  a 
number  of  barons  who  would  pay  but  little  heed  to  the 
threats  which  he  might  utter.  The  two  principal  men  in  the 
new  council  of  regency,  which  managed  the  affairs  of  the 
kingdom,  were  Bjarne  Erlingss0n  and  Bjarne  Lodinss0n. 
The  regents  now  issued  an  ordinance,  in  which  were 
many  things  directly  in  conflict  with  the  terms  of  the 
T0nsberg  Concordat,  and  which  was  plainly  intended  as  a 
challenge  to  the  archbishop  and  the  Church.  Jon  at  first 
tried  to  get  the  regents  to  withdraw  from  the  position  they 
had  taken  up,  and  threatened  excommunication,  but  found 
that  they  were  quite  indifferent  to  this.  Then,  as  a 


218  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

compromise,  both  parties  agreed  to  lay  the  case  before  the 
pope,  and  the  archbishop  left  Bergen  and  returned  to  Nidaros. 
Matters  remained  for  some  time  longer  without  any  very 
serious  move  on  either  side,  and  the  popular  feeling  against 
the  claims  of  the  Church,  especially  in  the  matter  of  tithes, 
increased. 

In  1281  the  regents  negotiated  the  marriage  of  the  young 
king,  with  Margaret  the  daughter  of  Alexander  III.  of 
Scotland,  without  consulting  the  primate.  The  princess 
arrived  in  Bergen  in  the  August  of  that  year,  where  the 
wedding  was  solemnized  by  the  archbishop.  In  the  midst 
of  the  festivities,  however,  the  quarrel  broke  out  afresh,  the 
archbishop  objecting  to  the  presence  of  one  of  the  chiefs 
whom  he  had  excommunicated ;  and  very  soon  after  left  for 
Nidaros,  having  excommunicated  Bjarne  Erlingss0n  and 
Andres  Plytt,  for  the  crime  of  procuring  from  the  young 
king  a  revocation  of  his  privilege  of  coining  money. 

Very  soon  after  Jon  left  Bergen,  Andres  Plytt  died,  and 
then  followed  a  curious  incident.  The  clergy  refused  to 
permit  the  bells  of  the  churches  to  be  rung  at  the  funeral, 
as  Andres  was  under  the  ban,  but  the  regents'  men  broke 
open  the  doors  of  the  church  towers  and  had  them  rung 
in  spite  of  them.  They  then  turned  on  the  Bergen  clergy, 
and  gave  them  the  choice  of  ignoring  the  excommunications 
or  of  leaving  the  country,  and  the  priests  in  Bergen 
preferred  the  former. 

The  regents  now  took  stronger  measures.  They  ordered 
the  new  system  of  tithes  to  be  given  up  and  the  old  system 
again  to  be  universal,  and  further,  in  defiance  of  the 
council  of  Bergen  and  the  T0nsberg  agreement,  decreed 
that  the  lay  judges  should  have  the  power  to  try,  as 
in  former  days,  all  cases  which  came  under  the  ancient 
Kristenret.  The  appeal  to  the  pope,  on  which  both 
parties  were  agreed,  did  not  lead  to  anything.  Martin  IV. 
was  at  that  time  on  the  papal  throne.  When  the  case 


FLIGHT  AND  DEATH  OP  ARCHBISHOP  JON.        219 

came  on  the  representatives  of  the  regents  demanded 
that  the  pope  should  send  a  legate  to  Norway  to  abrogate 
the  T0nsberg  Concordat,  and  on  this  being,  very  natu- 
rally, refused,  they  left  Home,  and  the  matter  practically 
ended. 

The  king's  council  now  proceeded  further  against  the 
clergy,  and  arrested  several  who  stood  by  the  archbishop 
and  confiscated  their  property.  The  strife  grew  so  great 
that  at  last  Archbishop  Jon  and  Bishops  Andreas  of  Oslo 
and  Thorfinn  of  Hamar,  were  obliged  to  leave  the  country, 
the  archbishop  taking  refuge  in  Sweden. 

The  regents  then  sent  Jon  Brynjulfss0n  to  Nidaros.  He 
seized  the  property  of  the  archbishop  and  the  chapter,  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  the  archbishop's  palace,  where,  to  the 
great  scandal  of  the  faithful,  he  actually  dared  to  sleep  in 
the  archbishop's  own  bed. 

Jon  did  not  long  survive  his  exile.  He  died  at  Skara,  in 
Sweden,  on  December  21st,  1282,  and  was  buried  there,  as 
the  regents  would  not  permit  his  body  to  be  brought 
to  Nidaros ;  but  a  year  afterwards  the  permission  was 
given,  and  it  was  disinterred  and  conveyed  to  his  own 
cathedral. 

Jon  Kaude  was  much  beloved  by  his  friends,  who  gave 
him  the  name  of  "The  Steadfast."  That  he  was  steadfast 
in  the  maintenance  of  the  claims  of  the  Church  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  but  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  at  all  as 
great  a  man  as  his  famous  predecessors,  Eystein  and  Erik, 
or  to  have  known  how  best  to  use  the  great  victory  he  had 
won.  With  a  little  more  tact  and  discretion  he  might  have 
kept  the  peace  and  avoided  the  fresh  outbreak  between  the 
Church  and  State.  The  two  other  bishops  went  to  Rome 
first,  and  then  Thorfinn  of  Hamar  went  to  Doest,  in 
Flanders,  where  he  died,*  and  Andreas  of  Oslo  made  peace 
and  returned  to  his  see.  At  this  time  it  would  seem  that  a 
*  Daae  "Norges  ffelgener,"  page  177. 


220  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

very  general  attack  was  made  on  Church  property  in 
different  places,  especially  in  those  dioceses  which  were  left 
without  bishops,  and  many  of  the  chiefs  or  barons  were 
guilty  in  this  respect. 

The  king,  who  had  now,  of  course,  attained  his  legal 
majority  (though  guided  largely  by  the  counsel  of  Bjarne 
Erlingss0n  and  others),  found  it  necessary  to  intervene  for 
the  protection  of  the  Church's  property.  In  1283  he, 
along  with  his  brother,  Duke  Haakon,  issued  a  proclamation 
taking  the  see  of  Nidaros  under  his  protection,  and  ordering 
that  all  the  tithes  and  fines  should  be  paid  which  were  due, 
but  they  were  to  be  computed  according  to  the  old 
Kristenret,  and  not  after  the  recent  arrangement  with  King 
Magnus.  It  was  felt  by  many  that  the  regents  had  gone 
too  far  in  the  strife  against  the  archbishop,  and  this  feeling 
was  intensified  by  the  troubles  which  came  upon  the 
country  at  this  time.  There  was  much  sickness  among 
men  and  animals ;  the  harvests  had  been  very  bad,  almost 
producing  famine  in  places.  The  young  Queen  Margaret 
died  in  1283,  and  several  of  the  chief  men ;  and  the  king 
had  a  very  narrow  escape  from  death  through  an  accident 
when  out  riding.  In  all  these  calamities,  the  mass  of  the 
people  saw  an  evidence  of  the  anger  of  Heaven  at  the 
way  the  Church  had  been  treated.  The  see  of  Nidaros 
had  been  some  time  vacant,  and  no  one  seemed  to  very 
much  desire  such  a  dangerous  post.  In  1284  the  chapter 
at  last  chose  Bishop  Narve  of  Bergen,  but  the  pope 
raised  objections  against  him.  Then  another  attempt 
was  made,  and  a  member  of  the  chapter,  Eindride, 
was  chosen,  and  an  embassy  was  sent  to  Eome  to  procure 
the  papal  sanction. 

The  ambassadors  on  arriving  at  Eome  had  interviews 
with  Honorius  IV.,  and  the  result  was  that  he  set  aside  the 
nominee  of  the  chapter,  and  appointed,  per  provisionem, 
J0rund,  bishop  of  Hamar,  in  February,  1287,  to  the 


ARCHBISHOP  J0RUND.  221 

archbishopric,  but  owing  to  the  death  of  Honorius  IV.,  and 
the  delay  in  appointing  his  successor,  it  was  not  until 
October,  1288,  that  J0rund  was  invested  with  the  pallium 
at  Nidaros. 

The  new  archbishop  had  a  very  difficult  part  to  play,  and 
it  can  hardly  be  said  he  was  equal  to  it,  though  the  Saga 
says  "  he  was  firm  in  friendship,  generous  to  his  followers, 
and  a  dignified  man."  He  began  his  episcopate  in  Nidaros 
by  a  liberal  distribution  of  excommunications  among  the 
chiefs  who  had  attacked  the  Church,  including  Jon 
Brynjulfss0n,  whom  we  have  before  mentioned.  The  new 
archbishop  and  the  bishops,  were  averse  to  continuing  the 
strife  with  the  State,  in  which  Jon  had  suffered  such  a 
severe  defeat,  and  seem  to  have  desired,  if  possible,  to  come 
to  terms  with  the  king  and  his  counsellors,  as  soon  as  they 
could.  The  T0nsberg  Concordat  was  the  high- water  mark 
of  the  Church's  power  in  Norway,  and  the  attempt  of  Jon 
to  carry  it  out  in  all  its  fulness,  had  provoked  the  reaction 
which  led  to  his  and  the  other  bishops'  banishment.  Now 
the  prelates  were  actuated  with  a  desire  to  save  as  much  as 
they  could  from  the  storm  which  had  burst  upon  them. 

Soon  after  J0rund's  enthronement  in  Nidaros,  a  suitable 
opportunity  occurred  of  coming  to  an  understanding  with 
the  State.  The  king  and  his  brother  Haakon  came  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Nidaros  (1289),  and  while  there  he  and  the 
archbishop  seem  to  have  come  to  terms.  The  following 
May,  1290,  the  king  and  Duke  Haakon  issued  a  letter  in 
which  they  stated  that  they  had  come  to  an  agreement 
with  the  archbishop  and  bishops,  in  which  they  had  decided 
to  revert  to  the  old  Kristenret  which  prevailed  in  the  country 
before  the  T0nsberg  Concordat,  and  that  this  should  include 
tithes  and  fines,  &c.,  about  which  so  many  complaints  had 
been  made  by  the  people.  Thus  again  the  contending 
parties  in  Church  and  State  went  back  to  the  ground  they 
had  before  occupied.  In  the  truce  with  Haakon  Sverress0n 


222  CHURCH   AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

in  1202  it  was,  "as  in  1152" ;  so  now  it  was,  "as  before 
the  T0nsberg  Concordat."  The  Church  had,  however,  gained 
immensely  in  power  from  the  time  of  the  respite  which 
followed  the  great  struggle  under  Erik,  and  could  afford  to 
abandon  its  claims  of  supremacy  over  the  State  when  it  had 
obtained  practical  independence  of  royal  control.  The 
T0nsberg  Concordat  was  not  formally  abrogated,  but  became 
a  dead  letter,  and  the  peace  now  brought  about  lasted  for  a 
very  long  period.  It  was  not  until  1458  that  the  T0nsberg 
Concordat  became  again  recognized,  under  Kristian  I.  of 
Denmark. 

Peace  having  been  thus  secured,  the  archbishop  turned 
his  attention  to  the  state  of  the  Church  in  Norway,  and 
called  a  provincial  council  in  Nidaros  in  August,  1290. 
The  bishops  found  that  there  were  many  matters  in  the  life 
of  the  clergy  and  people  which  needed  reform,  and  they 
issued  a  number  of  very  useful  canons.  Among  other 
things  they  ordered  all  parish  priests  to  preach  every 
Sunday  and  instruct  the  people  about  baptism  and  confirma- 
tion, and  also  to  be  diligent  in  teaching  both  young  and  old 
the  Creed,  Lord's  Prayer,  and  Ave  Maria,  and  to  see  that 
those  who  did  not  learn  were  punished.  They  were  also  to 
see  that  due  reverence  was  paid  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament 
both  in  church  and  when  it  was  borne  to  the  sick  and 
dying.  The  priests  were  not  permitted  to  duplicate  Mass 
on  Sundays,  except  on  the  great  festivals  or  where  they  had 
to  serve  two  churches,  &c. 

In  the  monastic  establishments  it  was  ordained  that 
sacred  writings  should  be  read  at  meal  times,  "  so  that  the 
ears  should  not  be  open  to  slander  and  offence." 

The  remaining  years  of  the  reign  of  King  Erik  the  Church 
and  State  never  came  into  conflict.  The  archbishop,  indeed, 
did  his  best  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  the  king,  and  agreed 
to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  king's  jarls,  and  did  homage 
for  his  temporal  possessions,  which  act  was  regarded  with 


BISHOPS  AND   CHAPTERS.  223 

much  disfavour  by  the  Church  generally.*  The  archbishop 
and  the  bishops  were  too  much  occupied  in  settling  internal 
disputes  to  have  time,  even  if  they  had  the  inclination,  to 
enter  upon  any  fresh  conflict  with  the  State. 

In  Norway,  as  in  every  other  country  of  Europe,  many 
disputes  had  broken  out  between  the  secular  clergy  and  the 
mendicant  orders,  and  as  they  went  on  almost  exactly  the 
same  lines  as  elsewhere,  we  need  not  enter  upon  them  at 
any  length.  In  addition  to  these  disputes,  fierce  quarrels 
broke  out  between  the  cathedral  chapters  and  their  bishops. 
In  Nidaros  a  prolonged  dispute  was  maintained  between 
Archbishop  J0rund  and  the  chapter  with  regard  to  their 
respective  rights,  in  which,  after  an  appeal  to  the  pope,  the 
victory  rested  in  the  main  with  the  chapter.  A  similar 
struggle  went  on  at  Stavanger  with  Bishop  Arne,  which 
lasted  until  the  death  of  the  latter  in  1303. 

The  other  disputes  were  between  the  cathedral  chapters 
and  the  mendicant  orders.  The  first  was  in  Bergen, 
where  the  clergy  and  chapter  were  very  hostile  to  the 
Dominicans.  The  latter  decreed  that  none  of  the  clergy 
should  give  them  either  "shelter,  food,  or  alms."  The 
bishop,  Narve,  who  had  himself  been  a  Dominican,  tried  in 
vain  to  have  this  order  recalled,  but  the  hostility  of  the 
chapter  and  secular  clergy  was  too  strong  for  him. 

In  Oslo  the  dispute  was  between  the  chapter  and  the 
Franciscans.  Duke  Haakon  had  given  the  monks  material 
for  building  a  church,  and  they  had  set  to  work,  when  the 
chapter  promptly  gave  orders  to  have  it  pulled  down. 
The  pope  was  appealed  to,  and  ordered  the  bishop  and 
representatives  of  the  chapter  to  Eome,  and  they  found  it 
prudent  under  these  circumstances  to  give  way. 

Kiog  Erik  died  in  Bergen  in  July,  1299,  in  his  thirty- 
first  year.  By  his  marriage  with  Margaret,  the  daughter 

*  This  arrangement  lasted  until  King  Haakon's  time,  when  it  was 
done  away  with  at  Oslo  in  1310. 


224  CHURCH   AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

of  Alexander  III.  of  Scotland,  he  had  one  daughter  named 
Margaret.  On  her  grandfather's  death  without  leaving  any 
son,  she  was  accepted  as  the  queen  of  Scotland,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  she  should  marry  Edward,  the  son  of 
Edward  I.  of  England.  The  "  Maid  of  Norway,"  as 
young  Margaret  was  called,  sailed  to  take  possession  of 
her  crown  in  1290.  She  was  then  only  eight  years  old. 
To  the  subsequent  great  misfortune  of  both  Scotland  and 
England,  the  young  princess  expired  on  her  arrival  at  the 
Orkneys.  King  Erik  married  a  second  time,  Isabella,  the 
sister  of  Robert  Bruce  of  Scotland,  and  by  her  he  had  one 
daughter,  Ingeborg.  On  Erik's  death  his  brother,  Duke 
Haakon,  succeeded  him  on  the  throne,  and  was  crowned  in 
Nidaros  by  Archbishop  J0rund,  in  either  the  August  or 
November  following. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
HAAKON  Y. 

The  last  Male  of  Harald  Haarfagre's  line — New  Law  of  Succession- 
Archbishop  J0rund's  Council  at  Oslo — The  King  and  Duke  Erik — 
The  King  procures  the  Appointment  of  a  "  Magister  Capellarum 
Regis  " — His  Policy  in  this — Death  of  Archbishop  J0rund — Bishop 
Arne  of  Bergen  and  his  Quarrels — Murder  of  Duke  Erik — Death  of 
Haakon. 

HAAKON,  who  during  his  brother's  lifetime  had  borne 
the  title  of  duke,  succeeded  Erik  without  any  dispute.  He 
had  for  several  years  before  his  accession  taken  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  government  of  the  country,  and  practically 
shared  the  royal  power  with  the  king.  Haakon  was  a  man 
of  much  stronger  character  and  force  of  will  than  Erik, 
and  he  soon  let  it  be  felt,  that  he  intended  to  rule  with  a 
firm  hand  over  both  the  barons  and  the  Church. 

He  had  seen,  during  his  brother's  reign,  that  the  growing 
power  of  the  barons  constituted  a  very  serious  danger  to 
the  royal  authority,  and  very  soon  after  his  accession  he 
detected  some  of  them  in  treasonable  correspondence,  and 
had  Audun  Hugleikss0n  executed,  and  forced  Bjarne 
Lodinss0n  to  fly  from  the  land. 

The  king  was  the  last  of  the  long  race  of  Harald 
Haarfagre  in  the  male  line,  and  not  having  any  son.  he 
was  anxious  to  make  a  new  arrangement  with  regard  to 
the  law  of  succession.  In  1302  he  called  an  assembly 
to  meet  in  Oslo  to  arrange  for  this,  and  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country  in  the  case  of  a  minority.  The 
king  had  two  daughters — one,  Ingeborg,  daughter  of  his 
queen,  Euphemia  of  Ktigen,  and  another,  Agnes,  who  was 

O.S.N.  Q 


226  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

illegitimate.  Ingeborg  was  at  this  time  only  just  a  year  old. 
The  proposal  respecting  the  inheritance  was  to  permit  the 
succession  of  the  legitimate  son  of  a  legitimate  daughter, 
next  after  the  legitimate  son's  son,  and  before  the  legitimate 
brother.  The  king's  object  was  in  case  his  daughter 
Ingeborg  lived,  and  became  the  mother  of  a  son,  that  he 
should  succeed.  He  also  extended  the  legal  period  of  a 
regency  to  the  king's  twentieth  year  instead  of  the  twelfth. 
The  regents  were  to  be  twelve  in  number,  (and  to  include 
the  chancellor) ;  four  of  these  were  always  to  be 
attached  to  the  king's  person.  The  object  of  the  reform 
was  to  include  in  the  regency  a  certain  number  of  officials, 
who  would  act  as  a  check  on  the  power  of  the  barons. 
These  changes,  for  some  reason  or  other,  the  king  omitted 
to  have  brought  before  the  Thing  for  its  formal  acceptance. 

Haakon  now  decided  to  find  a  suitable  person  to  whom  to 
betroth  his  infant  daughter,  and  selected  Duke  Erik  of 
Sweden,  brother  of  the  Swedish  king  Birger  Magnuss0n,  a 
young  man  of  great  talents,  and  of  a  very  ambitious  turn 
of  mind.  He  was  the  same  year,  1302,  betrothed  to  the 
baby  princess  Ingeborg.  Duke  Erik  did  his  best  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  all  the  people  in  Norway,  the  barons 
and  the  clergy,  and  especially  with  the  queen  Euphemia, 
and  set  himself  to  form  a  party  which  he  hoped  might 
possibly  be  strong  enough  to  place  him  on  the  throne.  The 
king  was  mindful  of  all  this,  but  for  some  years  there  was 
no  open  breach  between  him  and  the  duke. 

Archbishop  J0rund  and  his  chapter,  had  been  on  bad 
terms  for  a  long  time,  and  though  an  arrangement  had  been 
arrived  at  in  1299,  the  strife  broke  out  again  and  raged 
more  furiously  than  before.  In  1302  the  king  went  to 
Nidaros  and  held  a  Thing,  and  positively  commanded  the 
chapter  to  come  to  terms  with  the  archbishop,  which  they 
did,  but  they  were  practically  those  of  the  last  settlement, 
in  which  the  archbishop  got  decidedly  the  worst  of  it. 


PROVINCIAL  COUNCIL  AT  OSLO.  227 

The  royal  rebuke  to  the   chapter  was   intended   to  save 
appearances,  but  the  victory  in  reality  rested  with  it. 

Archbishop  J0rund,  however,  did  not  spend  all  his 
energies  in  fighting  with  his  chapter,  but  devoted  himself 
as  well  to  the  care  of  his  province.  In  1306  he  called  a 
provincial  council  at  Oslo,  which  was  attended  by  all  the 
Norwegian  bishops,  and  also  Erlend,  of  the  Fseroe  Islands. 
Several  very  useful  matters  were  arranged  at  this  meeting. 
The  rapid  growth  of  the  monastic  establishments  in  Norway 
necessitated  some  attention  to  their  condition.  It  was  found 
that  there  was  much  ignorance  amongst  the  brothers,  and  it 
was  ordered  that  certain  promising  young  men  from  the 
cloisters,  were  to  be  sent  abroad  to  study,  and  maintained 
at  the  expense  of  these  establishments. 

A  more  serious  abuse  was  dealt  with  in  cases  where  it 
was  found  that  nuns  had  received  men  as  brothers  into 
nunneries,  and  monks,  women  as  sisters  into  monasteries. 
This  was,  in  future,  absolutely  prohibited,  and  not  to  be 
tolerated  "under  any  circumstances  whatever."  The 
bishops  were  directed  to  appoint  suitable  confessors. 

The  king  now  set  himself  to  further  curtail  the  power  of 
the  barons,  or  chiefs.  From  Oslo,  in  June,  1308,  he  issued 
an  order  by  which  the  sysselmcend  were  brought  directly 
under  the  king's  control.  The  titles  of  jarl  and  lendermand 
were  in  future  restricted  to  the  king's  sons  and  the  jarl  of 
the  Orkneys.  The  present  holders  of  these  titles  were  to 
keep  them  for  their  lives.  The  king  also  created  several 
new  court  officials,  such  as  the  standard-bearer,  vice-chan- 
cellor, constable,  &c.  That  Haakon  was  able  to  carry  out 
such  reforms  was  a  manifest  proof  of  his  strength,  and 
from  this  time  onward,  the  growth  of  an  aristocratic  power 
in  Norway,  which  might  rival  that  of  the  king,  seems  to 
have  been  effectually  stopped. 

The  relations  between  Haakon  and  Duke  Erik  had 
become  more  and  more  strained  at  this  time,  and  the 


228  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

former  saw  plainly  what  were  the  duke's  aims,  and  so 
he  determined  to  break  with  him.  The  war  which  had 
dragged  on  for  some  years  with  Denmark  was  brought  to 
an  end  in  the  September  after  the  king's  decree  about  the 
lendermcend,  which  we  have  just  mentioned  ;  and  an  agree- 
ment was  made  by  which  the  young  princess  Ingeborg 
was  to  be  betrothed  to  Magnus,  the  son  of  the  Swedish 
king,  and  nephew  of  Erik,  king  of  Denmark.  When  Duke 
Erik  of  Sweden  learned  of  this  new  arrangement,  and  saw 
that  the  king  had  decided  to  break  with  him,  he,  in  the 
winter  made  a  sudden  attack  on  Oslo,  and  ravaged  the 
country  around.  He  failed,  however,  in  an  attempt  on  the 
fortress  of  Akershus,  beside  Oslo,  and  was  obliged  to 
retire  to  Sweden. 

Just  at  this  time  King  Haakon  carried  through  a  design 
which  he  had  been  meditating  for  some  years,  and  which 
was  intended  to  establish  a  powerful  defence  on  his  side 
against  the  authority  of  the  bishops.  We  have  seen  how 
he  had  checked  the  growth  of  the  power  of  the  barons,  and  he 
wished  also  to  enlist  on  his  side  an  ecclesiastical  force,  which 
would  defend  him  in  any  possible  attacks  from  the  arch- 
bishop and  bishops. 

The  kings  had  before  now  felt,  the  want  of  a  body  of  men 
who  were  learned  and  courtly  enough  to  carry  on  negotia- 
tions, either  with  foreign  powers  or  with  their  own  people. 
At  this  time  the  clergy  were  practically  the  only  men  with 
any  pretensions  to  learning  in  the  kingdom.  It  had  been 
usual  from  the  earliest  times  for  the  kings  to  have  attached 
to  their  persons,  one  or  more  priests  (or  bishops,  as  in  the 
days  of  the  two  Olafs),  who  acted  as  what  we  would  now 
call  court  chaplains.  Some  of  these  chaplains — e.g.,  Martin, 
Sverre's  chaplain — had  become  bishops,  but  the  kings  felt 
that  if  they  were  advanced  to  the  position  of  diocesans 
and  came  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  Koman  curia, 
they  would  soon  very  likely  come  into  collision.  Haakoii's 


THE  "MAGISTER  CAPELLARUM  REGIS."  229 

idea,  therefore,  was  to  raise  up  in  Norway  a  body  of  clergy 
who  were  to  be  independent  of  episcopal  control,  and  who 
would  be  entirely  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Crown. 
There  were  at  this  time  in  his  kingdom  fourteen  royal 
chapels,  to  which  the  king,  in  spite  of  the  various  agree- 
ments with  the  Church,  seems  to  have  retained  the 
patronage.  The  principal  of  these  were,  the  royal  chapel 
in  Bergen,  known  as  the  Apostles'  Church,  the  Maria  Kirke 
in  Oslo,  St.  Michael's  Church  in  T0nsberg,  and  St.  Olaf  at 
Agvaldsnses,^  not  far  from  Haugesund.  Some  of  the  royal 
churches  were  collegiate,  and  had  a  regular  body  of  canons. 
The  king's  idea  was  to  unite  these  churches  under  one  man, 
with  gwasi-episcopal  powers,  and  to  form  what,  in  modern 
days,  would  correspond  to  an  "  exempt  jurisdiction,"  or 
"  royal  peculiar." 

Haakon  went  to  work  very  prudently.  Instead  of 
negotiating  with  the  archbishop,  who  was  certain  to  oppose 
such  a  scheme,  he  approached  the  pope  directly.  In 
Clement  V.,  the  nominee  of  the  French  king,  who  brought 
the  papal  seat  to  Avignon,  he  found  the  man  for  his  pur- 
pose. After  some  delay  he  got  the  pope  to  issue  a  letter  in 
February,  1308,  in  which  the  pope  stated  that  "  on  account 
of  the  king's  merits,  which  made  him  worthy  of  the  favour 
of  the  Apostolic  see,"  he  gave  him  leave  to  carry  out  his 
plan.  The  provost  of  the  Apostles'  Church  in  Bergen  was 
to  be  the  head  of  all  the  royal  chapels,  with  the  title  of 
ie  Magister  Capellarum  Kegis,"  and  to  this  officer  was  given 
permission  to  wear  a  mitre  and  to  carry  a  crozier,  and  to 
"  visit"  the  royal  chapels  under  his  care.  The  first  man  to 
hold  this  office  was  Finn  Halldorss0n,  the  provost  of  the 
royal  chapel  in  Bergen. 

Thus  Haakon  triumphed  over  both  the  temporal  aristo- 
cracy, and  inflicted  also  a  severe  blow  to  the  power  of  the 

:  This  church  can  still  be  seen,  with  an  ancient  lautastm,  or  mono- 
lith, beside  it,  known  as  Jomfru  Maria's  Synaal  (the  B.  V.  M.'s  needle). 


230  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

bishops.       Indeed,  at  this  time  he  was  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  an  absolute  monarch. 

Archbishop  J0rund  did  not  long  survive  this  triumph 
of  royal  diplomacy.  He  died  at  Nidaros  in  April,  1309, 
and  to  the  end  of  his  days,  in  spite  of  the  various  "  settle- 
ments" which  had  been  made,  kept  up  the  fight  with 
his  chapter.  He  was  not  a  man  of  the  same  lofty 
stamp  as  some  of  his  predecessors,  and  his  bad  temper 
and  quarrelsome  disposition  kept  him  always  in  conflict 
with  others.  He  did  much,  however,  to  improve  the 
internal  condition  of  the  Norwegian  Church  by  the  legis- 
lation carried  through  in  the  two  important  councils,  over 
which  he  presided  at  Nidaros  and  Oslo.  His  successor 
was  found  in  Eiliv  Arness0n,  who  is  described  as  being 
"  a  great  chief,  of  good  manners." 

During  the  concluding  years  of  J0rund's  episcopate 
Bishop  Arne,  of  Bergen,  was  ruling  his  diocese  with  a 
strong  hand.  At  a  diocesan  synod  held  in  Bergen  in  1307 
he  issued  stringent  orders  to  enforce  celibacy  among  his 
clergy.  Many  of  them,  like  the  clergy  in  other  parts  of 
Europe,  were  living  with  what  were  called  in  Norway 
f riller  (focarise),  a  state  of  things  which  was  quite  approved 
of  by  their  people.  It  was  only  gradually,  and  after  a  long 
time,  that  celibacy  was  even  partially  enforced  among  the 
parochial  clergy.  They  long  resisted  the  demands  of  the 
bishops  and  the  pope,  on  the  ground  that  Cardinal  Nicholas 
in  1152  had  expressly  granted  them  permission  to  live  in 
matrimony.  In  his  cathedral  town  he  had  a  long  contro- 
versy with  the  Hanseatic  merchants,  who  wished  to  escape 
the  payment  of  tithe,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  only 
there  for  a  time  ;  but  the  bishop  held,  that  those  who  spent 
the  winter  in  Bergen  were  undoubtedly  liable,  and  after 
a  prolonged  dispute,  the  point  was  finally  settled  in  the 
bishop's  favour. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  Norwegian  bishops 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DISPUTES.  231 

would  view  with  equanimity  the  "  Magister  Capellarum 
Eegis,"  whose  office  they  would  naturally  consider  to  be  an 
encroachment  on  their  own  authority.  Bishop  Arne 
especially  was  of  a  temper  which  would  not  look  with 
favour  on  this  new  official,  whose  residence  was  in  his 
diocese.  We  find  that  he  very  soon  quarrelled  with  Finn 
Halldorss0n,  and  in  1310  a  great  dispute  broke  out  between 
them  with  reference  to  fees  and  tithes,  which  the  latter 
claimed.  The  bishop  quickly  threatened  excommunication, 
and  Finn  referred  the  matter  to  the  pope,  who,  not  wishing  to 
offend  the  king,  temporized,  and,  while  not  altogether  backing 
up  Finn,  he  ordered  that  the  bishop  should  perform  all  epis- 
copal offices  for  the  Magister,  but  he  confirmed  the  right  of 
the  king's  official  to  wear  the  episcopal  garments,  &c.  There 
were  other  disputes  with  this  Dean  of  the  Chapels  Koyal, 
as  we  might  call  him,  but  the  office  ceased  to  be  of 
importance  as  soon  as  the  union  with  Denmark  began. 

The  pugnacious  bishop  of  Bergen  had  also  a  quarrel 
with  his  metropolitan.  The  new  archbishop,  Eiliv,  who 
was  elected  in  1309,  did  not  go  at  once  to  the  pope  for 
consecration.  He  received  a  summons  with  the  other 
bishops  to  the  council  of  Vienne  in  January,  1310.  He 
was  consecrated  in  1 3 1 1 ,  probably  at  Avignon.  It  was  after 
his  return  that  the  archbishop  demanded  what  was  known  in 
Norway  as  the  pallie-lijwlp,  or  subsidy,  which  consisted  of 
a  portion  of  the  tithes  of  the  hoved  kirker,  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  journey  to  Kome  or  Avignon.  It  seems 
doubtful  if  this  tax  was  first  levied  in  Eiliv's  days,  or 
whether  it  had  existed  before.  There  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  any  refusal  to  pay  this,  but  Arne  was  very 
angry  when  the  archbishop  appointed  Finn  Halldorss0n  to 
collect  it,  and  at  once  threatened  to  excommunicate  any 
one  who  paid  it  to  Finn.  Then  both  sides  appealed  to 
the  pope,  and  the  matter  seems  at  last  to  have  ended  in 
the  archbishop's  favour.  We  must  now  turn  back  to  the 


282  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

events  of  King  Haakon's  reign,  and  it  is  necessary  to  be 
clear  about  them,  as  they  have  much  to  do  with  the 
subsequent  history. 

We  have  seen  that  King  Haakon  had  quarrelled  with 
Duke  Erik,  and  had  made  peace  with  Denmark  and 
Sweden,  at  Copenhagen,  in  1309.  The  king  of  Denmark 
made  an  expedition  into  the  south  of  Sweden  on  behalf 
of  his  brother-in-law  Birger,  who  was  at  war  with  Erik 
and  Valdemar,  but  had  to  retreat.  Then  Erik  and  Haakon 
again  came  to  terms,  and  a  new  peace  was  made  at  Hel- 
singborg  in  1310,  by  which  it  was  arranged  that  Erik  was 
now  to  marry  a  niece  of  the  Danish  king.  The  wily  Erik, 
however,  had  other  ideas,  but  agreed  outwardly,  and  went 
to  the  pope  to  procure  a  dispensation,  as  the  Danish 
princess  was  within  the  forbidden  degrees.  He  seems  to 
have  arranged  not  to  get  this,  and  returned  to  Sweden, 
and  then,  in  September,  1312,  he  and  his  brother  went  to 
Oslo,  and  Erik  married  Ingeborg,  and  Valdemar,  the  other 
Ingeborg,  daughter  of  the  late  King  Erik  of  Norway  and 
niece  of  King  Haakon.  The  Danish  king  was  naturally 
very  angry,  but  a  peace  was  again  made  in  1313  at 
Helsingborg.  Matters  thus  remained  for  a  couple  of 
years,  but  the  dukes  were  on  very  bad  terms  with  their 
brother,  King  Birger. 

In  131 6  Erik's  wife  Ingeborg  bore  a  son,  to  the  great  joy 
of  King  Haakon,  who  now  had  a  grandson  to  whom  the 
crown  should  go  on  his  death,  and  Duke  Erik  was  con- 
fident that,  as  the  father  of  the  future  king,  he  could 
accomplish  his  designs  with  regard  to  the  royal  power. 
But  a  terrible  tragedy  was  at  hand.  In  December,  1317, 
King  Birger  invited  his  two  brothers  to  visit  him  at  the 
Castle  of  Nykj0ping,  and  professed  a  desire  to  be  fully 
reconciled  to  them.  The  two  dukes  accepted  the  offer  and 
went  to  the  castle.  The  next  night  they  were  seized  and 
thrown  into  a  dungeon,  and  in  a  month  after,  both  were 


THE  END  OP  THE  MALE  LINE  OF  HAARFAGRE.  233 

dead — probably  starved  to  death,  or  in  some  other  way 
murdered. 

This  terrible  crime  roused  a  storm  of  indignation  against 
Birger,  and  he  was  forced  to  fly  from  Sweden.  Haakon 
came  to  the  country  to  support  the  claims  of  his  grandson, 
and  the  party  of  the  murdered  dukes  defeated  Birger,  who 
had  collected  some  forces  at  Skaane,  in  1318.  Birger 's  son 
Magnus,  who  had  been  held  as  a  captive,  was  executed  in 
Stockholm  in  1320  by  the  dukes'  party,  for  fear  he  should 
escape  and  raise  forces  against  them.  King  Birger,  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  Denmark,  died  there  in  1321. 

The  murder  of  the  two  dukes  was  a  terrible  blow  to 
King  Haakon,  who  seems  to  have  been  in  poor  health  at 
the  time,  and  he  never  recovered  from  it.  Feeling  that 
his  life  would  not  last  much  longer,  he  called  a  meeting  of 
the  chiefs  in  T0nsberg  in  April,  1319,  and  there  he  caused 
them  to  swear  allegiance  to  his  little  grandson.  The  eight 
principal  officials  and  chiefs  of  his  kingdom  undertook  in 
the  most  solemn  manner  to  carry  out  Haakon 's  arrange- 
ments made  in  1302  with  respect  to  the  regency,  and  they 
further  undertook  to  guard  against  foreigners  being  placed 
in  positions  of  authority  in  the  country.  The  king's  fore- 
boding as  to  his  approaching  death  was  verified.  He  died 
the  next  month,  on  May  8th,  1319,  in  the  forty -ninth  year 
of  his  age,  and  with  him  the  race  of  Harald  Haarfagre,  in 
the  male  line,  became  extinct,  after  having  furnished 
Norway  with  rulers  for  three  hundred  and  eighty-six  years. 

Haakon  V.  was  a  man  much  loved  by  his  people  generally, 
and  was  in  almost  all  respects  a  very  noble  king.  He  was, 
like  some  of  his  immediate  predecessors,  a  man  of  consider- 
able learning  for  his  time.  He  understood  and  could 
converse  in  Latin,  and  caused  to  be  translated,  under  his 
own  supervision,  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the 
Vulgate  into  Norwegian,  as  well  as  a  selection  from  the 
lives  of  the  saints.  These  works  were  read  to  the  king 


234  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

and  his  courtiers  on  Sundays  during  dinner.  In  his  reign 
the  Church  in  Norway  had  reached  perhaps  its  most  pros- 
perous period  during  the  whole  of  the  middle  ages.  The 
constant  strife  between  the  royal  and  ecclesiastical  power, 
which  had  been  very  injurious  to  the  cause  of  religion,  had 
practically  ceased  ;  and,  under  the  wise  and  judicious  rule 
of  Archbishop  Eiliv,  abuses  were  checked  and  attention 
closely  paid  to  the  instruction  of  the  people  in  the  tenets 
of  the  faith.  The  various  councils  which  were  held,  kept 
the  bishops  and  clergy  in  touch  one  with  another,  and  the 
abuses  which  were  so  prevalent  in  the  south  of  Europe, 
from  the  worldliness  of  the  higher  clergy,  were  but  little 
known  in  Norway.  After  Haakon's  death  the  prosperity 
of  the  Church  continued,  but  only  for  a  short  time,  when 
a  calamity  befell  the  nation  and  the  Church,  which  is 
perhaps  the  best  explanation  of  the  extraordinary  paralysis 
of  national  and  ecclesiastical  life  which  manifested  itself  in 
later  years.  This  was  the  visitation  of  the  terrible  Sorte 
D0d,  the  Black  Death,  the  result  of  which  produced  effects 
more  far-reaching  perhaps  in  Norway,  than  in  any  other 
country  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MAGNUS  ERIKSS0N  AND  THE  GREAT  CALAMITY, 
THE  SORTS  D0D. 

The  Union  of  Norway  and  Sweden — Provincial  Council  at  Bergen — 
Duchess  Ingeborg  deprived  of  Power — A  Drotsete  (Lord  Protector) 
appointed — Fire  at  Nidaros — Archbishop  Paul's  Council  at  Oslo — 
Discontent  in  Norway — Sodor  and  Man  finally  separated  from  the 
Norwegian  Church— The  Black  Death  comes  from  England  to 
Bergen,  1349 — Its  Ravages — The  Desolation  of  the  Church — 
Archbishop  Olaf  's  Council  at  Nidaros — Death  of  Magnus. 

THE  death  of  Haakon  V.  left  the  little  three-years-old 
Magnus  Erikss0n  the  sole  heir  of  the  throne  of  Norway,  in 
accordance  with  the  law  of  succession  established  by  his 
grandfather  eighteen  years  before.  The  council  of  regency 
appointed  by  Haakon  at  once  took  charge  of  the  affairs  of 
the  kingdom.  As  the  throne  of  Sweden  was  practically 
vacant — King  Birger  having  been  driven  out  of  the  country, 
and  his  son  Magnus,  though  still  alive,  being  held  as  a 
close  prisoner  in  Stockholm — young  Magnus  Erikss0n  was 
therefore,  failing  these,  the  heir  to  the  Swedish  as  well  as 
the  Norwegian  crown,  a  state  of  things  which  Haakon  V., 
with  all  his  foresight,  does  not  seem  to  have  contemplated. 

The  party  of  the  murdered  dukes,  Erik  and  Valdemar, 
held  a  meeting  in  Upsala  to  consider  the  question  of  the 
succession  to  the  crown ;  and  the  upshot  of  this  was  that  a 
deputation,  headed  by  the  bishop  of  Linkj0ping,  went  to 
Oslo  to  confer  with  the  Norwegian  chiefs,  including  Arch- 
bishop Eiliv  and  the  bishop  of  Stavanger.  It  was  then 
agreed  that  on  the  return  of  the  Swedish  delegates  they 
should  advise  that  Magnus  Erikss0n  be  chosen  as  king  of 


236  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

Sweden.  Accordingly  another  meeting  was  held  at  Upsala, 
and  on  July  8th,  1319,  he  was  formally  accepted  as  king 
of  Sweden. 

Thus  for  the  first  time  Sweden  and  Norway  were  united 
under  one  king.  The  two  kingdoms  were,  however,  only 
bound  together  by  "  the  golden  link  of  the  crown."  In  all 
other  respects  they  were  to  remain,  as  before,  quite  distinct 
and  separate,  with  their  own  laws  and  customs  and  their 
own  revenues.  The  king  was  to  reside  for  a  portion  of  the 
year  in  each  kingdom,  and  his  Swedish  advisers  were  to 
have  no  authority  in  Norway,  and  vice  versa.  In  many 
respects  the  arrangement  made  at  this  time,  was  very  much 
the  same,  as  that  which  prevails  between  Norway  and 
Sweden  in  our  own  day. 

Although  young  Magnus  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded 
to  the  throne  on  his  grandfather's  death,  his  formal  accept- 
ance as  king  of  Norway  did  not  take  place  until  a  gathering 
at  T0nsberg  in  August,  1319.  The  young  king's  mother, 
Ingeborg  (the  widow  of  Duke  Erik),  had  a  good  deal  to  do 
with  the  management  of  affairs.  She  was  little  more  than 
a  child  when  Magnus  was  born,  and  was  left  a  widow  when 
only  seventeen.  She  unfortunately  came  very  much  under 
the  influence  of  a  Danish  nobleman,  Knut  Porse,  who  had 
designs  on  the  crown  of  Denmark,  and  her  conduct  caused 
very  great  dissatisfaction  in  Norway. 

We  must  now  revert  to  ecclesiastical  affairs.  In  1320 
Archbishop  Eiliv  summoned  a  provincial  council  in 
Bergen,  which  was  held  at  a  time  when  the  young  king 
and  his  mother  were  in  the  city.  All  the  Norwegian 
bishops  attended,  and  the  bishops  of  the  Orkneys  and  the 
Fseroe  Isles.  Many  of  the  decrees  of  this  council  are 
interesting  from  the  light  which  they  throw  on  the  state  of 
life  which  prevailed  in  the  Church  in  Norway  at  this  time. 
Several  of  them  were  similar  to  those  we  find  in  other 
countries,  but  some,  of  course,,  were  intended  to  deal  with 


THE  PROVINCIAL  COUNCIL  AT  BERGEN.          237 

the  peculiar  circumstances  connected  with  Church  life  in 
Norway.  The  regulation  of  the  monastic  establishments 
proceeded  on  the  same  lines  as  that  of  Archbishop  J0rund's 
council  in  Oslo  in  1306,  but  the  rules  with  respect  to  the 
parochial  clergy,  and  the  exercise  of  discipline  among  the 
laity,  are  interesting. 

We  find  further  legislation  directed  against  the  state  of 
concubinage,  in  which  many  of  the  parochial  clergy  lived, 
now  thab  matrimony  had  been  absolutely  forbidden.  It 
was  ordered  that  if  any  priest  had  a  frille  within  a  month 
from  receiving  notice  of  the  decree,  he  should  be  fined 
four  marks  for  a  priest  of  a  hoved  Jcirke,  and  two  marks  for 
a  kapellan,  or  a  deacon ;  continuance  in  this,  doubled  the 
fine  in  a  few  days,  and  ultimately  led  to  a  forfeiture  of  the 
benefice. 

The  priests  were  ordered  to  keep  the  baptismal  font 
clean,  and  to  procure  oil  for  extreme  unction  from  the 
bishop  every  year.  Stringent  rules  were  made  respecting 
the  duty  of  the  parish  priests  to  baptize  infants  and  to 
shrive  the  dying.  If  a  priest  was  guilty  of  negligence  in 
these  matters  he  was  to  be  suspended,  but  it  was  ordered 
that  those  who  required  the  services  of  the  priest  must  send 
a  horse  for  him  to  ride,  or  a  boat  if  the  journey  had  to  be 
performed  by  water,  arid  the  priest  was  not  to  be  required 
to  row  in  the  boat. 

Great  care  was  to  be  exercised  in  the  carrying  of  the 
viaticum  to  the  dying,  and  the  priest  was  permitted  to 
bring  it  in  a  little  bag,*  which  was  hung  round  the  neck, 
when  he  had  to  traverse  difficult  mountain  paths,  or,  as  was 
often  the  case,  places  where  no  path  existed.  If  the  priest's 
vestments  were  worn  out,  they  were  to  be  burned  in  the 
church  and  the  ashes  placed  under  the  altar. 

In  the  mixed  chalice  it  was  ordered  that  there  should  be 

*  This  was  also  permitted  by  Archbishop  J0nmd. — Council  at 
Nidaros  in  1290. 


288  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

more  water  than  wine.  This  was  to  be  done  by  the  priest 
himself,  and  not  the  server.  The  rule  was  possibly  intended 
to  economize  the  wine,  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was 
difficult  to  procure  in  some  places. 

Rules  were  made  to  enforce  morality  among  the  laity, 
and  marriage  within  the  prohibited  degrees  was  strictly 
forbidden.  It  would  seem  to  have  been  customary  for 
many  of  the  people  to  live  together  after  betrothal,  before 
the  regular  marriage  took  place,  but  if  children  were  born 
after  the  banns  had  been  called,  and  before  the  marriage 
had  been  celebrated,  they  were  to  be  taken  as  legitimate. 
The  viaticum  was  not  to  be  given  to  a  frille,  unless  the 
man  she  lives  with  agrees  to  marry  her,  or  she  separates 
from  him.  No  unmarried  women  were  to  be  churched. 
Fresh  regulations  were  made  respecting  the  attendance  of 
the  clergy  at  diocesan  synods.  In  a  country  so  large,  and 
so  difficult  to  travel  through  in  those  days,  it  was  hard  for 
the  priests  to  leave  their  parishes  to  attend  the  synods  in 
the  bishop's  cathedral.  It  was  arranged  that  the  priests 
of  the  hoved  kirker  should  nominate  those  who  were  to 
attend,  and  all  parish  priests  were  to  be  chosen  in  turn. 
Before  the  priest  left  his  parish  to  attend  the  synod,  he  was  to 
see  that  he  left  no  infants  unbaptized,  or  no  one  unconfessed 
or  unhouseled.  The  priests  who  remained  at  home  had  to 
take  charge  of  the  parishes  of  those  who  went,  and  before 
the  representative  went  to  the  synod,  he  was  to  announce 
who  was  to  be  left  in  charge.  When  on  his  way  to  the 
cathedral  city,  the  priest  in  passing  through  a  parish  was 
liable  to  be  called  on  to  do  duty,  but  could  not  demand  any 
fee  for  the  same.  When  he  got  home  from  the  synod,  he 
was  to  tell  those  who  remained  behind,  what  new  decrees 
had  been  made.^ 

The  dissatisfaction  with  the  conduct  of  the  king's  mother, 

*  For  fuller  details  of  the  decrees  of  this  council,  see  Norges  Gamle 
Love,  Vol.  III.,  page  246  ;  and  Keyser,  Vol.  II.,  page  198. 


THE   DROTSETE.  239 

the  Duchess  Ingeborg,  which  had  been  felt  from  the  first, 
grew  stronger  as  the  years  passed,  and  the  chiefs  now  saw  that 
some  steps  must  be  taken  to  deprive  her  of  all  power  in  the 
affairs  of  the  kingdom.  In  February,  J323,  a  meeting  was 
called  at  Oslo,  at  which  the  archbishop  and  the  bishops  of 
Hamar,  Oslo,  and  Skaalholt  were  present.  It  was  decided 
to  ask  the  archbishop  to  select  a  man  in  whose  care  the 
kingdom  should  be  placed.  He  chose  Erling  Vidkunss0n, 
a  great  chief  of  Bjark0,  in  Haalogaland.  This  choice  was 
approved  by  a  Thing  at  Oslo,  and  all  the  chief  men  pro- 
mised to  support  him.  Erling  was  known  as  the  Drotsete — 
of  which  title,  perhaps,  the  best  translation  would  be  lord 
protector,  or  lord  high  constable — and  for  nine  years  he 
ruled  the  country  in  the  king's  name  with  great  wisdom 
and  moderation.  The  object  of  his  appointment  was  to  get 
rid  of  the  Duchess  Ingeborg,  and  in  this  it  was  successful. 
She  remained  in  Norway  for  a  short  time,  but  deprived  of 
the  power  she  formerly  possessed,  and  in  1327  marrying 
Ejnut  Porse,  who  had  been  made  Duke  of  Sondre  Halland, 
she  went  to  live  in  Denmark.  She  was  left  a  widow  a 
second  time  in  1330,  and  after  that  remained  principally 
in  Denmark. 

The  Drotsete  was  not  to  rule  Norway  without  some 
troubles,  for  about  the  time  of  his  appointment,  the  Eussians 
attacked  Haalogaland  and  devastated  a  part  of  the  country, 
including  the  Drotsete's  own  estate.  The  assailants  were 
partly  heathen  and  partly  Greek  Catholics,  who  were 
regarded  as  heretics  by  the  popes.  To  repel  this  attack 
was  therefore  something  of  the  nature  of  a  crusade.  The 
treasury  of  Norway  was  rather  low  at  the  time,  after  the 
extravagances  of  the  Duchess  Ingeborg,  and  the  Drotsete 
felt  anxious  to  obtain  the  necessary  funds  for  the  purpose. 
He  therefore  approached  the  Church  in  order  to  procure 
help.  The  wise  and  patriotic  Archbishop  Eiliv  was  willing 
to  assist,  but  some  of  the  other  bishops  were  decidedly 


240  CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

hostile  to  the  proposal,  especially  Bishop  Audfin  of  Bergen, 
with  whom  many  controversies  were  carried  on  during  his 
episcopate.  There  was  much  disputing  about  the  matter, 
but  nothing  finally  was  decided  at  the  time,  as  a  peace  with 
the  Eussians  was  made,  and  the  money  was  not  therefore 
required.  The  point  in  dispute  was,  however,  too  important 
to  be  allowed  to  drop,  and  at  a  provincial  council  which 
was  held  in  Bergen  in  1327  it  again  came  under  discussion. 
Here  Bishop  Audfin  came  forward  as  the  champion  of  those 
who  wished  the  Church  to  be  exempted  from  all  payment 
of  skat,  and  claimed  that  Archbishop  Jon  Raude's  Kristenret, 
which  would  have  exempted  them  from  payment,  should 
be  approved.  This,  however,  was  firmly  resisted  by  the 
Drotsete,  and  aided  by  the  kindly  moderation  of  the  arch- 
bishop, wiser  councils  prevailed.  The  "Kristenret  of  Haakon 
the  Old  and  Archbishop  Sigurd "  was  held  to  be  the  law 
under  which  the  Church  was  to  be  ruled.  This  was  formu- 
lated in  a  proclamation  or  letter  signed  by  the  king,  the 
Drotsete,  and  the  chancellor,  and  the  matter  was  finally 
settled. 

The  office  of  chancellor,  which  seems  to  have  been  in 
abeyance  for  some  years,  was  now  revived,  and  it  was 
intended  to  be  a  compensation  to  the  Church,  by  having 
such  a  high  official  (who  was  one  of  the  clergy)  in  a  post 
which  had  so  much  to  do  directly  with  the  government  of 
the  kingdom.  The  new  chancellor  was  Paul  Baardss0n,  a 
man  of  great  learning,  who  had  studied  at  Paris  and  Orleans 
and  was  learned  in  canon  ]aw.  He  was  first  a  member  of 
the  Bergen  chapter,  but  was  at  this  time  in  that  of  Nidaros, 
and  afterwards,  as  we  shall  see,  reached  the  highest  post  in 
the  Church. 

On  Easter  Monday,  April  4th,  1328,  a  great  disaster 
befell  Nidaros.  The  beautiful  cathedral  of  Christ  Church, 
the  monument  of  the  work  of  Archbishop  Eystein  and  his 
immediate  successors,  was  almost  destroyed  by  fire.  All 


MARRIAGE  OF  MAGNUS.  241 

the  internal  woodwork  was  burned,  and  the  walls  suffered, 
but  not  irreparably.  The  bells  also  were  much  injured. 
The  archbishop  sent  out  an  appeal  to  all  his  suffragans,  and 
to  the  principal  men  in  Norway,  for  help  in  rebuilding  the 
cathedral,  which  was  liberally  responded  to. 

In  1332  the  young  king,  having  now  reached  his 
sixteenth  year,  assumed  the  nominal  control  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  Erling  Vidkunss0n,  the  Drotsete,  resigned  his 
post.  He  had  discharged  the  rather  difficult  duties  of  his 
office  with  great  skill,  and  his  firm  but  prudent  rule  had 
secured  peace  to  the  land.  After  his  retirement  the 
chancellor,  Paul  Baardss0n,  was  the  king's  chief  adviser. 
Paul  was,  however,  not  long  to  remain  chancellor,  for  in 
November,  1332,  Archbishop  Eiliv  died,  having  practically 
held  the  see  for  twenty -three  years,  though  he  was  not 
consecrated  until  two  years  after  his  election.  Eiliv  was  a 
man  who  was  universally  respected  in  Norway,  and  under 
his  wise  government  the  Church  attained  very  great  pros- 
perity in  every  respect.  Though  a  strong  Churchman 
he  was  not  an  intemperate  advocate  of  her  claims,  and 
by  his  skilful  pilotage  he  avoided  many  of  the  dangers 
which  had  so  frequently  caused  strife  between  the  Church 
and  the  State.  He  was  too  good  a  patriot  not  to  recognize  the 
injury  which  the  fierce  controversies  of  previous  generations 
had  done  to  Norway,  as  well,  indeed,  as  to  the  Church  over 
which  he  was  called  to  rule.  Paul  Baardss0n  was  chosen 
as  Eiliv's  successor,  and  resigned  his  office  as  chancellor. 

In  the  year  1335  the  young  king  married  Blanche,  or 
Blanca,  as  she  was  called  in  Norway,  the  daughter  of  the 
duke  of  Namur,  a  woman  of  great  cleverness,  who  soon 
acquired  a  complete  ascendency  over  her  weak  husband. 
The  year  following  Magnus  was  crowned  in  Stockholm 
as  king  of  Sweden.  It  is  not  easy  to  arrive  at  an  exact 
estimate  of  the  character  of  Magnus,  for  the  Swedish  writers 
paint  him  in  very  dark  colours,  and  ascribe  all  kinds  of 

C.S.N.  R 


242  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

vice  and  immorality  to  him,  and  the  name  which  was 
given  to  him  of  Smek,  or  the  trifler,  indicated  that  he  had 
but  small  regard  for  the  responsibilities  of  his  office.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Norwegian  writers  speak  of  him  in 
a  very  different  way,  and  some  called  him  "  The  Good,"  and, 
we  are  told,  after  his  death  regarded  him  as  almost  a  saint.* 
The  truth  probably  lies  between  the  two  accounts,  and  it 
was  the  hostility  between  the  two  countries  which,  when 
one  denounced  the  king  as  an  evil-living  trifler,  caused  the 
other  to  paint  him  as  a  good  and  saintly  man.  He  was 
certainly  not  a  strong  king,  and  utterly  unfitted  to  hold 
two  kingdoms  under  his  sceptre. 

Magnus's  weak  rule,  and  his  continued  absence  in 
Sweden,  led,  as  was  only  to  be  expected,  to  much  discon- 
tent in  Norway,  which  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  its 
own  king.  To  try  and  arrange  matters  the  king  called  a 
meeting  at  Baahus  in  August,  1339,  but  nothing  definite 
was  arrived  at.  It  was,  however,  settled  that  during  the 
absence  of  Magnus  in  Sweden  the  archbishop  and  Bishop 
Haakon,  of  Bergen,  were  to  look  after  the  government  of 
Norway,  and  with  this,  things  were  quiet  for  a  time. 

The  year  1343  was  remarkable  for  the  consecration  of 
no  less  than  six  bishops  in  the  province  of  Nidaros  to  fill  up 
sees  vacant  by  death  or  resignation.  These  were,  Bergen 
and  Stavanger,  the  two  Icelandic  bishoprics  of  Skaalholt  and 
Hole,  and  Garde  in  Greenland. 

Notwithstanding  the  arrangements  mentioned  above,  the 
discontent  with  Magnus  burst  forth  again,  and  a  strong 
party  desired  the  separation  of  the  kingdoms  of  Norway 
and  Sweden.  At  a  meeting  at  Vardberg,  in  Sweden,  in 
1343,  it  was  arranged  that  the  king's  two  sons  should 
succeed  him  at  his  death,  the  elder  Erik,  taking  Sweden, 
and  the  younger  Haakon,  Norway.  Both  of  them  were  at 
this  time  only  children,  but  the  arrangement  seemed  to 
*  See  Daae's  Norges  Helgener,  page  188. 


SODOR   AND  MAN.  243 

promise  (when  it  came  into  being)  an  end  of  the  very 
unsatisfactory  state  of  things  which  then  prevailed. 

In  1346  Archbishop  Paul  died,  having  held  the  see  for  a 
little  more  than  twelve  years.  There  was  no  very  impor- 
tant event  to  mark  his  episcopate.  During  the  latter  part 
of  it,  he  issued  a  long  pastoral  letter  to  the  clergy  and 
people,  in  which  he  gave  many  directions  respecting  the 
observance  of  the  Church's  rules  in  connection  with  holy 
baptism,  confirmation,  confession,  &c.,  which  showed  how 
carefully  all  these  sacraments  were  at  this  time  administered 
in  the  Norwegian  Church. 

Paul's  successor  was  Arne  Einarss0n,  who  was  one  of  the 
Nidaros  chapter,  and  a  nephew  of  Archbishop  Eiliv. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  though  the  political  con- 
nection between  Norway  and  the  Western  Isles  of  Scotland 
and  the  Isle  of  Man  had  practically  ceased,  yet  for  ecclesias- 
tical purposes  the  bishopric  of  Sodor  and  Man  still  remained 
a  part  of  the  province  of  Nidaros.  About  this  time,  how- 
ever, the  ecclesiastical  connection  was  also  to 'come  to  an  end, 
though  nominally  it  continued  for  a  considerably  longer 
period. 

The  last  bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man  who  seems  to  have  gone 
to  Norway  was  Marcus,  who  was  present  at  the  coronation 
of  King  Erik  in  1280.  The  bishops  seem  to  have  had 
a  not  unnatural  objection  to  facing  the  dangers  and  dis- 
comforts, of  the  long  voyage  across  the  North  Sea  to  Nidaros 
to  receive  consecration,  and  to  have  preferred  the  shorter 
journey  to  England,  or  the  more  interesting  one  to  Avignon. 
In  1348,  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Thomas,  William  Russell, 
abbot  of  the  Cistercian  monastery  of  Rusheen,  was  chosen 
as  his  successor.  Instead  of  going  to  Norway,  he  proceeded 
to  Avignon,  where  he  was  consecrated  by  the  cardinal 
bishop  of  Ostia.  The  reason  for  this  was  explained  to  the 
archbishop  of  Nidaros,  by  Pope  Clement  VI. ,  in  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  the  following  year  (April,  1349).  In  this 


244  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

he  mentions  that  his  action  in  having  William  Eussell 
consecrated  was  "  by  no  means  to  be  ascribed  to  any 
intention  of  the  pope  to  detach  the  Sudreyan  see  from 
the  Provincia  Nidrosiensis,  or  to  give  any  prejudice  to 
his  metropolitan  rights,  but  only  to  the  circumstance  that 
this  episcopate,  as  all  others,  or  in  general  all  ecclesias- 
tical benefices,  had  been  reserved  by  the  pope  for  his  own 
provision."'*  Thus,  although  nominally  respecting  the  rights 
of  the  metropolitan  of  Nidaros  over  Sodor  and  Man,  the 
pope's  action  practically  put  an  end  to  them,  and  from  this 
time  onwards,  no  bishop  of  that  see  was  consecrated  at 
Nidaros.  Still,  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  longer,  Sodor 
and  Man  was  officially  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  Nidaros 
province. 

Magnus  in  1348  attacked  the  Eussians  as  a  sort  of 
crusade,  and  gained  some  successes  ;  but  on  his  retirement 
they  overran  Finland,  and  again  attacked  Haalogaland 
and  Sweden,  and  this  still  more  increased  the  hostility  of 
the  Swedes  to  the  king. 

Archbishop  Arne,  following  the  example  of  his  prede- 
cessor Paul,  sent  out  another  pastoral  letter  very  much 
on  the  same  lines  as  that  of  the  latter,  and  with  the  same 
careful  attention  to  details  in  the  religious  life  of  the  people. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  at  this  time  the  Church  in  Norway 
was  in  many  ways  an  example  to  the  other  national 
Churches  of  Europe.  Its  remoteness  had  preserved  it  from 
many  of  the  abuses  and  corruptions  which  at  this  time  were 
manifesting  themselves  in  other  lands,  and  the  constant 
succession  of  provincial  councils  which  we  have  noted, 
were  an  evidence  that  the  primates  desired  to  maintain  a 
high  standard  of  life,  both  in  the  monastic  establishments 
and  among  the  secular  clergy,  even  if  the  rules  laid  down 
were  not  strictly  adhered  to.  But  a  great  disaster  was 

*  See  "  Chronica  Regum  Manniae  et  Insular  urn,"  edited  by  P.  A. 
Munch,  page  147;  and  Appendices  17  and  18. 


THE  SORTE  D0D.  245 

now  to  fall  upon  the  land  and  to  inflict  a  blow  from  which 
the  Church  never  fully  recovered,  and  which  crippled  its 
usefulness  down  to  the  day,  when  the  avarice  of  the  Danish 
kings  and  their  courtiers,  swept  away  most  of  its  fabrics, 
confiscated  its  revenues,  and  broke  the  long  line  of  the 
historic  episcopate. 

In  1349  an  English  merchant  ship  sailed  into  the  harbour 
of  Bergen  and  brought  to  Norway  the  awful  plague  which 
had  devastated  so  many  European  lands,  and  in  an 
incredibly  short  time  the  Black  Death  (the  dreaded  Sorte 
D0d  of  Norway)  swept  the  land  from  one  end  to  the  other.  * 

Terrible  as  were  the  results  of  this  visitation  in  England 
and  other  countries,  they  seem  to  have  been  even  worse  in 
Norway,  and  down  even  to  the  present  day  signs  of  its 
desolating  progress  may  be  traced.  Many  districts  which 
are  now  but  sparsely  inhabited,  were  once  (for  Norway) 
thickly  populated.  Yalleys  which  in  the  olden  days  con- 
tained comfortable  farms  and  patches  of  cultivated  land, 
are  now  merely  used  for  sceters,  or  dairy  farms,  to  which  for 
a  few  months  the  cattle  and  sheep  are  driven  in  the  summer 
to  feed  on  the  rich  pasture. 

The  Norwegian  annals  are  full  of  stories  of  this  great 
disaster,  and  the  imagination  of  the  people  depicted  the 
plague  as  a  terrible  old  witch,  who  went  through  the  land 
bearing  with  her  a  rake  and  a  broom ;  where  she  raked 
some  survived,  where  she  swept  with  the  broom  none  were 
left  behind.  It  is  estimated  that  more  than  a  third  of  the 
population  of  the  land  died,  and  when  the  pestilence 
ceased  there  was  no  heart  left  in  the  people.  In  one 
valley,  the  great  Jostedal  (according  to  the  legend  which 
seems  not  to  be  improbable),  every  soul  perished  except 
one  little  girl,  who,  almost  wild  with  terror,  managed  to 
support  her  life  through  the  winter,  and  was  discovered 

*  Dr.  A.  L.  Faye's  Den  Sorte  D$d,  contains  much  interesting  infor- 
mation respecting  the  Black  Death. 


246  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

the  next  summer  by  the  people  of  Lorn,  who  crossed  the 
mountains  to  see  what  had  become  of  their  neighbours. 
Her  descendants  again  peopled  the  valley.* 

Even  the  very  existence  of  churches  was  in  some  places 
forgotten,  as  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish  had  been 
swept  away."("  No  district  of  Norway  seems  to  have 

*  A  family  tracing  its  descent  directly  from  this  girl,  who  was  known 
as  Jostedals  Rypa  (rypa,  the  ptarmigan),  on  account  of  her  having  been 
found  like  a  wild  bird,  still  live  near  Amble  in  Sogn. 

t  A  very  remarkable  instance  of  this  is  the  case  of  the  parish  church 
of  Hedal,  not  far  from  the  northern  end  of  the  Spirillen  lake,  in  Valders. 
The  story  of  the  recovery  of  this  church  in  later  years  is  a  strange  and 
interesting  one :  "  Some  centuries  ago  a  man  in  pursuit  of  Ryper 
traversed  one  of  these  formerly  inhabited,  but  now  deserted,  places. 
As  he  shot  an  arrow  at  a  bird  on  one  of  the  trees  he  heard  a  peculiar 
sound,  as  if  the  arrow  had  struck  against  something.  Full  of  curiosity, 
he  approached  the  place,  where,  to  his  astonishment,  he  came  upon  an 
old  church.  Mindful  of  the  ancient  idea  that  if  it  was  a  work  of  witch- 
craft it  would  immediately  disappear  if  brought  into  proximity  to  steel, 
he  seized  his  tinder-box  and  threw  it  over  the  church.  On  the  spot 
where  it  fell,  a  farmhouse  was  afterwards  built,  which  to  the  present 
day  bears  the  name  of  Ildjernstad  (the  tinder-box  place).  After  taking 
this  precautionary  measure  he  proceeded  to  investigate  the  church. 
The  key  stood  in  the  church  door,  which  was  half  open.  In  the  middle 
of  the  floor  stood  a  large  bell,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  a  great  bear 
had  taken  up  its  winter  quarters.  It  was  slain  by  the  brave  hunter, 
and  its  skin  was  hung  up  in  the  church  as  a  memorial  of  this  strange 
occurrence,  where  the  remains  of  a  large  bear-skin  are  still  to  be  seen. 
In  the  church  he  is  said  to  have  found,  among  other  things,  some 
pictures,  a  little  brass  shrine,  four  large  bells  and  one  small  one.  It 
was  against  one  of  these  that  the  hunter's  arrow  had  struck  and  pro- 
duced the  sound  which  attracted  his  attention."  ("  A.  Faye,  Norske 
Folkesagn,"  quoted  by  Dietrichson,  "  Norske  Stavkirker,"  page  354.) 

The  little  brass  shrine,  once  used  as  a  reliquary,  is  still  preserved  in 
the  church,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  representation  of  the  martyrdom 
of  St.  Thomas  a  Becket,  of  Canterbury.  This  interesting  relic  of  the 
middle  ages  (see  picture  next  page)  is  believed,  on  the  best  authority, 
to  have  been  made  about  fifty  years  after  the  martyrdom,  and  is  there- 
fore one  of  the  very  earliest,  if  not  the  earliest,  representations  of  the 
murder  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury.  It  is  worthy  of  note  how  the 
cult  of  "  the  holy  blissful  martyr  "  of  Canterbury  prevailed  in  Norway 


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THE  RAVAGES  OF  THE  SORTE  D0D.  247 

escaped  the  pestilence ;  it  stalked  north,  south,  east,  and 
west,  and  the  memory  of  its  desolating  presence  has  never 
been  effaced  from  the  minds  of  the  people.  Other  nations 
of  Europe  suffered  from  the  same  terrible  plague,  but  they 
have  forgotten  it.  The  memory  of  it  still  survives  among 
the  b0nder  of  Norway. 

There  was,  however,  one  bright  spot  in  the  universal 
gloom  which  the  plague  spread  over  the  land,  and  that  was 
the  heroic  devotion  of  the  bishops  and  clergy.  None  of 
them  seem  to  have  flinched  from  the  post  of  duty  and 
danger.  Through  it  all,  they  stood  firm  and  ministered  to 
the  sick  and  dying,  but  the  price  paid  was  a  terrible  one. 
The  archbishop  and  every  bishop  in  Norway  died  of  the 
plague,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Salomon  of  Oslo.  In 
Bergen  in  one  day  eighty  persons  were  buried  at  a  single 
church,  and  among  these  were  fourteen  priests  and  six 
deacons.  The  chapter  of  Nidaros  was  almost  entirely 
swept  away,  and  the  same  thing  happened  in  Bergen  and 
other  cathedrals.  In  Agder  seven  parishes  were  swept  of 
their  inhabitants.  The  bishop  of  Stavanger  sent  many 
priests  and  deacons  to  minister  to  the  sick  and  suffering, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  all  of  these  brave  men  fell  victims 
to  the  plague.  These  terrible  disasters  filled  the  minds  of 
the  people  with  horror  and  remorse  for  their  sins,  and  it 
was  thought  they  were  but  a  prelude  to  the  Day  of  Judg- 
ment, which  was  everywhere  expected  in  Norway  in  1357. 

The  plague  began,  in  the  natural  course,  to  abate,  and  a 
special  prayer  which  the  pope  is  said  to  have  written  for 
the  suffering  people,  as  well  as  a  special  mass  which  was 
said,  helped  to  comfort  and  reassure  them.* 

during  the  middle  ages.  The  famous  church  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury, 
near  Nystuen,  on  the  Fille  Fjeld,  was  only  finally  swept  away  in  1808. 

*  In  1359,  and  again  in  1371,  terrible  epidemics  raged  in  Norway, 
which  carried  off  many  people,  including,  in  1371,  Archbishop  Olaf, 
who  died  at  Oslo. 


248  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

It  is   easy    to   understand   what    a   terrible   blow   this 
desolating   pestilence  proved  to   the  Church  in  Norway. 
All  its  best  and  wisest  men  were  carried  away,  and  the 
ranks  of  the  clergy  were  most  terribly  thinned,  and  no 
suitable  men  left  to  take  the  vacant  posts.      The  Nidaros 
chapter  had  only  one  member  left,  and  the  pope  nominated 
Olaf,  abbot  of  Nidarholm,  to  the  vacant  see.    In  this  instance 
the  pope  made  use,  for  the  second  time  at  Nidaros,  of  the 
power  which  the  papacy  claimed  of  appointing  to  vacant 
sees  per  provisionem,  and  overriding  the  rights  of   the 
chapters.     There  were,  of  course,  cases  in  which  this  might 
manifestly  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church,  as,  for  example, 
where,  from  disputes  or  other  causes,  there  was  an  unreason- 
able delay  in  filling  up  vacancies.     In  the  case  of  Archbishop 
Olaf  it  was  a  very  wise  step,  but  the  papacy  did  not  confine 
the  exercise  of  its  power  to  such  instances,  but  proceeded 
in  many  cases  to  deliberately  overrule  the  decisions  of  the 
chapters  and  appoint  its  own    nominees  to  vacant   sees. 
Another  instance  of  this  happened  on  the  death  of  Bishop 
Salomon  of  Oslo   (the  only  survivor  of  the  Black  Death 
among  the  bishops),  who  died  in  1351.     After  his  death 
the  chapter  chose  Gyrd,  one  of  their  number,  and  he  was 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Olaf ;  but  the  pope  declined  to 
recognize  him,  and  appointed  Sigfrid,  or  Sigurd,  bishop  of 
Sfavanger,  who  was  in  Rome  at  the  time.     The  canonically- 
chosen  bishop  gave  up  his  post,  but,  Clement  VI.  dying  soon 
after,  his  successor,  Innocent  VI.,  appointed  Gyrd  to  the 
see  of  Stavanger. 

The  new  archbishop  at  once  set  to  work  to  try  and 
reorganize  the  shattered  Church.  To  fill  up  the  many 
vacancies,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  lower  the  canonical 
age  for  ordination,  and  many  lads  of  eighteen  years  of  age 
were  put  in  charge  of  parishes.  These  young  men  had,  of 
course,  neither  the  learning  nor  experience  needed  for  the 
posts  which  they  held,  and  many  abuses  soon  manifested 


COUNCIL  AT  NIDAROS.  249 

themselves.  Their  lives  and  conversation  were  very  much 
below  the  standard  of  upright  living  which  had  charac- 
terized their  predecessors,  and  for  a  time  at  any  rate  there 
was  a  great  declension  in  the  state  of  the  spiritual 
life  of  the  Church.  The  archbishop  called  together  a 
council  at  Nidaros  in  August,  1351.  At  this  many  of 
the  older  regulations  were  renewed  and  new  ones  added  to 
cope  with  the  state  of  things  then  existing.  It  was 
especially  enjoined  on  the  clergy  the  necessity  of  leading 
clean  and  pure  lives  and  of  avoiding  being  mixed  up  in 
quarrels  among  their  people.  The  old  regulations  respecting 
the  fritter  were  again  re-enacted,  and  great  abhorrence  was 
expressed  that  some  of  the  clergy  had  regularly  and  openly 
taken  fritter,  and  had  had  public  betrothals  to  them. 
Although,  on  paper,  the  laws  always  existed,  yet  we  know 
that  down  to  the  Reformation,  from  the  time  of  the  Sorte 
D0d,  these  regulations  were  never  enforced,  but  that  the 
clergy  continued  to  contract  these  irregular  unions,  and 
that  it  was  practically  acquiesced  in  by  their  superiors,  who 
in  many  cases,  if  we  are  to  believe  Theodore  of  Niem,  them- 
selves had  their  f filler  as  well  as  the  parochial  clergy  ! 

A  wise  provision  of  the  council  was  that  the  older  clergy, 
who  had  survived  the  plague,  should  instruct  the  new  and 
untried  ones  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  right  and 
proper  performance  of  the  Church's  offices. 

The  new  prelates  strove,  as  far  as  they  could,  to  remedy 
the  state  of  things  which  they  found  around  them  as  the 
result  of  the  Black  Death,  but  it  was  a  long  time  indeed 
before  matters  were  finally  reduced  to  order,  and  the  revival 
of  religious  life  was  again  checked,  by  the  desolations  which 
accompanied  the  break  with  Rome,  under  the  Danish  kings, 
in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

If  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  Norway  at  this  time  were  in  an 
unsatisfactory  state,  things  were  no  better  as  regards 
temporal  matters.  The  feeble  King  Magnus's  unpopularity, 


250  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

caused  largely  by  his  continued  absences  from  the  country, 
increased  year  by  year.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  had 
arranged  that  his  second  son,  Haakon,  was  to  have  the 
kingdom  of  Norway,  but  Haakon  was  still  a  child.  In 
1350  Magnus  was  in  Bergen,  and  seems  to  have  agreed  to 
nominate  as  "  drotsete  "  Orm  Eysteinss0n,  who  practically 
ruled  the  country  for  five  years,  until  1355,  when  young 
Haakon  was  declared  of  age  and  took  over,  nominally,  the 
government  of  the  kingdom.  Magnus  now  remained  king 
only  of  Sweden.  His  other  son,  Erik,  who  had  been 
brought  up  in  that  country,  was  not  on  good  terms  with  his 
father,  chiefly  on  account  of  Magnus's  favourite,  Benedict 
Algotss0n,  whom  he  imagined,  his  father  wished  to  make 
his  heir.  An  arrangement  was  made,  however,  in  1357  by 
which  Erik  and  Magnus  divided  Sweden,  but  the  peace  did 
not  last  long.  Erik  suspected,  with  apparently  good  reason, 
that  his  father  was  intriguing  with  the  Danish  king 
Valdemar  against  him.  In  1359  young  Haakon  of 
Norway  was  betrothed  to  Margaret,  Valdemar's  daughter 
(afterwards  the  famous  queen),  and  the  marriage  took  place 
in  1363. 

In  1359  Erik  of  Sweden  died  suddenly  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years,  supposed  to  have  been  poisoned,*  and 
his  wife  and  two  children  died  soon  afterwards.  Magnus 
thereupon  resumed  the  government  of  Sweden,  and 
Valdemar  attacked  and  conquered  the  district  of  Skaane. 
The  Swedish  chiefs  were  very  furious  with  Magnus  on 
account  of  what  they  believed  to  be  his  secret  compact  with 
the  Danish  king,  and  in  1363  they  offered  the  crown  to 
Albrekt  of  Mecklenburg,  son  of  Euphemia,  Magnus's  sister. 
Albrekt  accepted  the  offer  and  went  to  Stockholm.  But 
Haakon  came  to  his  father's  assistance,  and  there  was  much 

*  According  to  another  account,  he  was  carried  off  with  his  young 
wife  and  infant  twin  children,  by  the  visitation  of  barnekopper  (small- 
pox), which  visited  the  north  in  1359 — 60. 


DEATH   OF  MAGNUS.  251 

hard  fighting.  At  Enkjdbing  a  battle  (March,  1365)  was 
fought,  in  which  Magnus  was  taken  prisoner  and  Haakou 
wounded.  The  war  continued  with  varying  successes,  until 
at  last,  in  1371,  an  agreement  was  made  by  which  Magnus 
was  set  at  liberty.  Magnus  was  to  have  the  revenues  of 
some  Swedish  provinces  and  to  bear  the  title  of  king  during 
his  life  ;  Haakon  renounced  on  his  part,  his  claim  to  Sweden, 
and  left  the  government  to  Albrekt.  Magnus  did  not  long 
survive  this  peace ;  he  was  drowned  while  crossing  the  open 
Bommel  Fjord,  to  the  north  of  Stavanger,  in  December, 
1374,  and  thus  ended  his  long  and  inglorious  reign  of  fifty- 
five  years. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  CHURCH   UNDER   MARGARET   AND    ERIK. 

Queen  Margaret  gains  Denmark  for  her  son  Olaf — The  Pope  appoints 
Nicholas  Ruser  Archbishop — Erik  of  Pomerania  chosen  King — The 
Union  of  Kalmar — Bishop  Eystein  Aslakss0n  of  Oslo — His  Mission 
to  London — History  of  St.  Birgitta — The  Order  of  the  Saviour — 
The  State  of  the  Norwegian  Church  as  recorded  by  Theodore  of 
Niem. 

DURING  the  concluding  years  of  the  fourteenth  century 
the  history  of  the  Church  in  Norway  does  not  present  any 
special  features  of  interest.  It  had  not  recovered  from  the 
shock  of  the  disasters  of  1349 — 50,  and  in  1371  another 
outbreak  of  plague  still  further  paralyzed  its  powers.  The 
energetic  Archbishop  Olaf,  who  had  done  his  best  to  revive 
life  in  his  diocese  and  province,  fell  a  victim  to  the  plague 
in  1371.  He  was  succeeded  by  a  man  named  Thrond, 
about  whom  practically  nothing  is  known.  It  will  give 
some  idea  to  what  a  low  ebb  the  Church  had  been  reduced 
by  the  Black  Death  when  we  are  told  that  in  the  diocese  of 
Nidaros,  Archbishop  Thrond  found  only  forty  priests  (old 
and  feeble),  where  formerly  there  were  three  hundred  !  In 
the  Bergen  diocese  there  was  only  one  priest  to  every  three 
or  four  churches,  and  when  the  enormous  extent  of  most 
parishes  in  Norway  is  borne  in  mind,  the  wonder  only  is  that 
there  was  any  religion  left  in  the  country.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  a  very  great  falling-off  in  the  religious  life  of 
the  people,  was  the  result  of  the  lack  of  a  properly  instructed 
priesthood.  Even  in  the  towns  this  was  noticeable,  and 
the  energetic  Bishop  Jakob  of  Bergen,  in  a  pastoral  which 
he  issued  in  1390  to  that  city,  paints  in  very  dark  colours 


OLAF  CHOSEN  KING   OF  DENMARK.  253 

the  state  of  morals  then  prevailing,  and  set  himself 
vigorously  to  remedy  these  evils. 

King  Haakon,  who  after  his  father  Magnus's  death,  was 
the  sole  king  in  Norway,  had  a  son,  Olaf,  born  to  him  in 
1371,  and  in  1375  Yaldemar  Atterdag  of  Denmark  died 
without  leaving  any  male  issue.  Queen  Margaret  at  once 
claimed  the  Danish  crown  for  her  infant  son,  although  she 
was  not  the  eldest  daughter  of  Yaldemar.  The  question  of 
the  election  of  a  new  Danish  king  came  before  the  diet  at 
Odense,  but  the  adherents  of  Ingeborg,  duchess  of  Meck- 
lenburg, Margaret's  elder  sister,  attended  in  force,  and  the 
decision  was  postponed.  Meanwhile  Margaret  did  much  to 
ingratiate  herself  with  the  most  influential  men  in  Denmark, 
especially  among  the  clergy,  and  the  result  was  that  at 
another  gathering,  held  at  Slagelsee  in  1376,  her  son  Olaf 
was  chosen  as  king,  and  his  mother  was  entrusted  with  the 
government  on  his  behalf.  King  Haakon  did  not  live  long 
after  this  triumph  of  his  energetic  queen,  but  died  at  Oslo 
in  1380.  The  year  following  Margaret  and  Olaf  came  to 
Norway,  where  the  latter  was  accepted  as  king  at  Nidaros, 
and  a  "  drotsete  "  appointed  to  govern  the  country  during 
the  absence  of  the  young  monarch  and  his  mother.  Queen 
Margaret  was  now  making  her  power  felt  in  both  Denmark 
and  Norway,  and  her  ambitious  design  of  uniting  the  three 
Scandinavian  kingdoms  under  one  sovereign,  became  more 
apparent.  But  it  was  not  only  in  the  State,  but  in  the 
Church  as  well,  that  she  desired  to  place  in  office,  those  who 
would  carry  out  her  will.  A  very  curious  incident  occurred 
at  this  time  in  the  Norwegian  Church  which  showed  that  the 
queen's  influence  was  no  less  powerful  with  the  Koman 
curia  than  in  Denmark  or  Norway. 

In  1381  Archbishop  Thrond  died,  and  the  Nidaros 
chapter  elected  Haakon  Ivarss0n  as  his  successor.  He 
started  for  Home  in  order  to  be  consecrated  in  1382,  but 
had  only  got  as  far  as  Germany,  when  he  learned  to  his 


254  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

astonishment  that  the  pope  had  already  selected  and  con- 
secrated an  archbishop  for  Nidaros  in  defiance  of  the 
chapter's  election  of  himself.  This  was  one  Nicholas  Ruser, 
or  Rusare,  a  man  of  a  noble  Danish  or  German  family,  who 
had  been  in  favour  with  Valdemar,  the  late  king,  and  also 
with  Queen  Margaret.  It  seems  very  probable  that  this 
man  was  not  originally  in  holy  orders  at  all.  It  was  true 
he  had  been  a  canon  of  Roskilde,  but  this  did  not  necessarily 
imply  that  he  was  in  orders,  as  such  posts  were  sometimes 
given  to  laymen  as  a  reward  for  services  rendered  to  the 
Crown. *  It  is  clear,  however,  that  Archbishop  Nicholas 
arrived  in  Denmark  fully  invested  with  papal  authority  in 
1382,  and  was  welcomed  by  the  queen.  In  confirmation  of 
the  opinion,  which  many  in  his  day  held,  that  he  was  merely 
a  layman,  it  may  be  noted  that  he  never  exercised  any 
episcopal  powers.  He  never  consecrated  any  bishops,  or 
performed  any  other  duties  of  his  office,  except  to  preside 
at  a  council  which  was  held  at  T0nsberg  in  1383,  but  this 
was  not  an  exclusively  ecclesiastical  gathering.  One  thing, 
however,  he  did  do.  He  went  to  Nidaros  and  helped  him- 
self to  many  of  the  treasures  of  the  see,  and  with  these  he 
retired  to  Denmark,  where,  fortunately  for  the  Church,  he 
died  in  1386. 

King  Olaf  died  in  1387,  at  the  early  age  of  seventeen, 
and  there  was  now  no  direct  heir  to  the  kingdom  of 
Norway.  Queen  Margaret,  however,  was  determined  not 
to  lose  her  grasp  of  the  royal  authority.  She  was  accepted 
as  regent  of  Denmark  the  same  year,  and  in  1388  of 
Norway  as  well,  but  the  Norwegians  would  not  accept  a 
woman  as  their  Sovereign.  Margaret  had,  however,  a 
candidate  for  the  vacant  throne  in  the  person  of  Erik  of 
Pomerania,  then  a  child  only  six  years  old.  Erik  was 

*  Bp.  Bang,  in  his  Udsigt  over  den  Nor  sice  Kirkes  Historic,  makes 
this  point  clear,  as  against  Keyser's  assumption  that  the  possession  of 
a  canon  17  implied  being  in  holy  orders. 


MARGARET   GAINS  SWEDEN.  255 

Margaret's  grandnephew,  his  mother  being  Marie,  the 
daughter  of  Margaret's  sister  Ingeborg,  who  married  Henry 
of  Mecklenburg.  This  prince  was  nephew  of  Magnus 
Erikss0n,  and  great-grandson  of  Haakon  V.  *  Though  Erik 
was  so  remotely  connected  with  the  royal  house  of  Norway, 
he  was  accepted  as  king  through  the  influence  of  Queen 
Margaret,  who  was  thus  enabled  to  maintain  her  rule  over 
the  kingdom  and  to  carry  on  the  government  in  young 
Erik's  name. 

Margaret  had  now  the  complete  control  of  two  of  the 
Scandinavian  kingdoms,  and  she  determined  to  add  Sweden 
to  the  number,  and  to  unite  them  all  under  one  sceptre. 
She  soon  found  an  opportunity,  as  King  Albrekt  had 
grown  very  unpopular  with  his  people,  chiefly  on  account 
of  his  partiality  for  his  German  friends.  With  her  usual 
diplomacy,  Margaret  skilfully  availed  herself  of  this,  to  stir 
up  the  Swedish  magnates  against  their  king,  and  she  so 
far  succeeded  that  in  May  1388,  a  number  of  the  chiefs 
formally  declared  themselves  on  her  side.  This  at  once 
led  to  an  open  rupture,  and  both  parties  took  up  arms, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  next  year,  1389,  King  Albrekt 
was  utterly  defeated,  and  taken  prisoner,  at  Falk0ping  and 
carried  to  Denmark. 

There  was  still  some  resistance  on  behalf  of  Albrekt  by 
the  Germans,  who  held  Stockholm,  and  were  supported  by 
the  Hanseatic  towns  of  Rostock  and  Wismar,  and  they 
encouraged  privateers,  known  as  the  Vitalie-br0drey'\  to 
harry  the  Norwegian  coast,  in  the  course  of  which  they 
burnt  the  city  of  Bergen.  The  struggle  continued  for 

*  See  genealogical  table. 

f  The  Vitalie-br+dn  (brethren)  were  a  kind  of  joint-stock  company 
formed  for  bringing  provisions  to  the  Germans  in  Sweden ;  from  their 
supplying  them  with  victuals  they  received  their  name  ;  and  from  being 
harmless  provision  merchants,  they  ended  by  becoming  dangerous 
pirates. 


256  CHURCH   AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

some  years  longer,  and  at  last  the  imprisoned  king  Albrekt, 
having  failed  to  pay  the  ransom  demanded  of  him,  was 
obliged  to  surrender  Stockholm,  and,  being  set  free,  retired 
with  his  son  to  Germany. 

Queen  Margaret  had  now  gained  all  the  three  kingdoms. 
In  1396  she  had  secured  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  for 
Erik,  and  later  in  the  same  year  he  was  chosen  king  of 
Sweden.  Thus  for  the  first  time  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Denmark  were  united  under  one  king.  On  Trinity  Sunday, 
June  17th,  1397,  young  Erik  was  solemnly  invested  with 
the  crown  of  the  three  kingdoms  at  Kalmar. 

At  this  time  the  famous  union  of  Kalmar  was  formed,  and 
a  constitution  was  promulgated  under  which  it  was  to  be 
maintained.  The  principal  points  of  this  important  agree- 
ment were  as  follows  : — 

(1)  The  three  kingdoms  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Den- 
mark were  in  future  always  to  remain  united  under  one 
king. 

(2)  The  king  should  be  chosen  by  all  three  kingdoms. 
If   the  deceased  king  left  sons,  one  of   them  was  to  be 
selected,  but  if  there  was  no  issue,  the  representatives  of 
the  kingdoms  were  to  select  the  best  man  they  could  find. 

(3)  The  three  kingdoms  were  to  be  united  in  all  foreign 
matters,  but  under  their  own  laws,  &c.,  with  respect  to 
domestic  affairs. 

(4)  If  any  one  country  was  attacked,  the  others  were 
to  help  it,  but  at  the  charges  of  the  former. 

This  triple  alliance  of  the  kingdoms  of  Scandinavia 
seemed  to  promise  well  for  the  future  peace  of  the  North ; 
and  had  there  been  a  strong  man  upon  the  throne,  or  a 
succession  of  wise  and  prudent  kings,  it  would  doubtless 
have  led  to  very  important  consequences.  Erik  was,  how- 
ever, a  mere  cypher,  and  when  the  strong-minded  Margaret 
passed  away,  the  jealousies  and  quarrels  between  different 
nations,  and  the  ambition  of  the  Danish  kings,  soon  broke 


BISHOP  EYSTEIN   OF  OSLO.  257 

up  the  union,  leaving  only  Denmark  and  Norway  united,  the 
latter  country  soon  to  become  a  mere  province  of  Denmark, 
and  practically  bereft  of  national  life,  until  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century  saw  its  revival  once  more. 

From  this  necessary  digression,  into  the  political  history 
of  the  countries  under  Margaret's  rule,  we  must  return  to 
ecclesiastical  affairs  in  Norway  at  the  end  of  the  fourteenth 
century. 

Nicholas  Ruser's  successor  in  the  primacy  was  Vinalde 
Henrikss0n.  He  was  probably  a  Swede  by  birth,  but  had 
lived  all  his  life  in  Norway,  and  had  been  "  Magister 
capellarum  regis  "  and  keeper  of  the  royal  seal.  He  was 
consecrated  in  1887,  and  got  back  to  Norway  the  same 
year.  He  was  a  good  man,  but  his  activity  was  manifested 
chiefly  in  political  matters,  in  which  he  took  a  very  leading 
part  as  a  supporter  of  Queen  Margaret.  He  died  in  1402. 
A  more  prominent  ecclesiastic  of  this  period  was  Bishop 
Eystein  Aslakss0n  of  Oslo  (1386 — 1407),  who  has  left  a 
remarkable  inventory  of  the  property  of  the  Church  in  his 
diocese,  which  was  known  as  "The  Red  Book/'  so  called 
from  the  colour  of  its  binding.  He  issued  also  a  pastoral 
letter  with  respect  to  the  state  of  the  Church  in  the 
Telemark,  which  was  at  that  time,  and  for  centuries  after, 
a  remote  and  very  turbulent  district,  where  the  authority 
of  both  Church  and  State  was  but  lightly  regarded,  and 
where  tithes  were  but  seldom  or  ever  paid.  It  throws  a 
remarkable  light  on  the  life  of  the  people  at  that  period, 
and  shows  the  difficulties  with  which  the  clergy  had 
to  contend,  amongst  their  very  fierce  and  quarrelsome 
parishioners. 

One  interesting  fact  concerning  this  bishop  is  worthy 
of  notice.  When  the  Norwegian  bishops  left  their  sees  it 
was,  as  a  rule,  to  visit  one  of  the  Scandinavian  kingdoms, 
or  to  go  to  Rome,  on  matters  directly  connected  with  the 
affairs  of  the  Church  in  Norway.  Bishop  Eystein  Aslakss0n 

C.S.N.  S 


258  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

was,  however,  an  exception  to  this  rule,  and  paid  a  visit 
to  England  in  1405.  After  the  death  of  her  son  Olaf,  Queen 
Margaret,  on  her  grand-nephew  Erik  having  been  accepted 
as  king,  decided  to  procure  an  English  consort  for  him,  and 
negotiations  were  opened  with  the  English  court  in  order  to 
obtain  the  hand  of  the  Princess  Philippa,  the  daughter  of 
Henry  IV.,  for  Erik.  Six  envoys  were  selected  for  the 
purpose,  and  Bishop  Eystein  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
mission.  They  met  at  J0nk0ping  in  November,  1404,  but 
were  prevented  by  bad  weather  from  setting  out  until  the 
spring  of  the  following  year,  when  they  safely  reached 
London,  where  the  bishop  was  lodged  "with  one  John 
Scrivener,  of  Fleet  Street."*  The  efforts  of  the  mission 
were  crowned  with  success,  and  the  marriage  of  Erik  and 
the  English  princess  was  celebrated  by  proxy  on  November 
26th,  1405.  The  Norwegian  bishop  proved  himself  very 
acceptable  to  the  English  court,  and  had  the  honour  of 
being  invited  to  preach  in  Latin  before  Henry  IV.,  which 
he  did,  and  his  eloquence  was  much  admired. 

During  his  stay  in  England  he  visited  St.  Albans,  where 
he  charmed  the  monks  with  his  knowledge  of  their  patron 
saint,  to  whom  the  famous  cloister  at  Selje  was  dedicated. 

The  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century  saw  the  founda- 
tion of  a  new  religious  order,  the  only  one  to  which  the 
North  gave  birth — the  famous  order  of  the  Holy  Saviour, 
which  was  due  to  that  most  remarkable  woman  St.  Birgitta.f 

Britta,  or  Birgitta,  was  born  in  the  year  1303  or  1304. 
Her  father  was  Birger  Pederson,  the  "lagman"  of  Finstad,  in 
Sweden,  and  her  mother  Ingeborg  Bengtsdatter,  of  Ulfaasa. 
Both  parents  belonged  to  well-known  families,  and  her 
mother  was  connected  with  the  Swedish  royal  line. 
From  her  earliest  childhood  she  seems  to  have  manifested  a 

*  See  Wylie's  "History  of  England  under  Henry  IV.," passim. 
t  One  of  the  most  recent  accounts  of  the  life  of  St.  Birgitta  is 
"Den  Hellige  Birgitta,"  by  A.  Brinkmann,  Copenhagen,  1893. 


ST.  BIRGITTA.  259 

very  devout  and  mystical  frame  of  mind,  and  even  at  eight 
years  of  age  is  said  to  have  had  visions. 

At  thirteen  she  was  married  to  Ulf  Gudmarson,  who  was 
himself  only  five  years  older  than  his  very  youthful  bride. 
The  marriage  turned  out  to  be  in  every  way  a  happy  one, 
as  Ulf  was  of  a  very  similar  disposition  to  his  wife.  Their 
family  consisted  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  one  of 
whom  was  afterwards  the  famous  St.  Katharine  of  Sweden. 
About  the  year  1340  Birgitta  and  her  husband  went  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  far-famed  shrine  of  St.  James  of  Compos- 
tella.  On  the  way  back  he  fell  very  ill  in  Flanders,  and  on 
his  recovery  vowed  (with  Birgitta's  approval)  to  renounce 
the  world,  and  enter  upon  a  religious  life.  This  he  did  and 
joined  the  monastery  of  Alvastra,  but  he  did  not  long 
survive,  and  died  in  1344. 

It  would  seem  that  it  was  at  this  time,  that  the  natural 
mysticism  of  Birgitta's  mind  became  much  more  marked, 
and  she  began  to  have  those  wonderful  visions  and  revela- 
tions which  afterwards  led  to  the  establishment  of  the 
order  which  bears  her  name. 

On  account  of  her  high  rank  she  was  attached  for  a  time 
to  the  suite  of  Blanche  of  Namur,  the  wife  of  King  Magnus 
Erikss0n,  who  seems  to  have  treated  his  saintly  relative  with 
but  very  scant  courtesy.  During  this  time  she  was  disturbed 
by  the  continued  wars  between  France  and  England,  and 
is  reported  to  have  said  :  "  If  the  king  of  England  will  not 
observe  the  Divine  plan  he  will  prosper  in  none  of  his 
transactions,  and  will  end  his  life  in  pain  and  leave  his 
kingdom  and  his  children  in  tribulation  and  anguish.  His 
family  will  set  themselves  against  each  other  and  cause  a 
confusion  all  will  wonder  at.""*  Was  the  miserable  death 
of  Richard  II.  and  the  struggles  between  the  houses  of 
York  and  Lancaster,  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy  ? 
After  her  widowhood,  and  finding  the  residence  in  the 

*  Butler,  "  Acta  Sanctorum." 

s2 


260  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

court  very  distasteful,  she  retired  to  her  own  home,  and  in 
1346  she  finally  left  Sweden  for  the  south.  Her  natural 
instinct  led  her  to  Eome,  where,  like  many  another  before 
and  after  her,  she  hoped  to  find  "  the  streets  paved  with 
imperishable  gold — the  blood  of  the  holy  martyrs — and 
where  through  the  merits  of  the  saints  and  the  absolution 
of  the  pope,  the  speediest  way  to  heaven  was  to  be  found." 
Visits  to  various  shrines  filled  up  some  time,  and  then,  like 
her  sainted  contemporary,  Catharine  of  Siena,  she  did  her 
best  to  make  the  Avignon  pope,  Urban  V.,  return  to  Rome, 
which  he  did  at  length  in  April,  1367,  in  spite  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  French  cardinals.  But  a  short  time  sufficed  for 
Urban,  and  he  decided  to  return  to  his  native  land  in  1370. 
Birgitta,  however,  declared  that  the  Blessed  Virgin  had 
revealed  it  to  her,  that  if  he  went  back  he  should  die,  and 
strangely  enough  her  words  proved  true.  Urban  V.  died 
within  two  months  of  his  return  to  Avignon,  and  the  fame 
of  Birgitta  grew  more  and  more.5*  In  1372,  accompanied 
by  two  of  her  sons  and  her  daughter  Katharine,  she  went 
on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem  and  the  holy  places  of 
Palestine,  and  returned  to  Eome  the  next  year,  where  she 
died  on  July  23rd,  1373. 

Birgitta  was  much  reverenced  for  her  sanctity  throughout 
Europe.  The  remarkable  "  Revelationes  St.  Birgittse  "  have 
been  collected,  and  contain  an  extraordinary  series  of  "  for 
the  most  part  mystic  rhapsodies,  visions  of  the  Saviour  and 
the  Virgin,  full  of  strange  pious  allegory."!  St.  Birgitta  in 
many  ways,  closely  resembled  her  more  widely  known  con- 
temporary Catharine  of  Siena,  especially  in  the  way  in  which 

*  The  election  of  Urban's  successor,  Gregory  XL,  at  first  filled 
Birgitta  with  much  joy,  as  she  hoped  that  he  would  finally  end  the 
papal  residence  at  Avignon.  Gregory,  however,  temporized,  and  said 
that  there  were  difficulties  in  so  doing  while  the  war  between  France 
and  England  continued.  He  received  her  admonitions  with  pious 
inactivity  and  professed  great  gratitude  for  them. 

t  Milman,  "  History  of  Latin  Christianity,"  Vol.  VIII.  page  27. 


THE  ORDER  OF  THE   HOLY  SAVIOUR.  261 

she  believed  the  revelations  were  directly  given  to  her  by 
our  Lord  Himself,  and  that  it  was  by  His  direct  command 
that  she  founded  the  order,  and  from  Him  received  the 
details  as  to  its  constitution. 

In  1391,  at  the  request  of  King  Erik,  the  pope,  Boniface 
IX.,  canonized  her  on  October  7th,  which  was  afterwards 
observed  as  her  day  in  the  calendar.  The  order  of  the 
Holy  Saviour  quickly  spread  over  the  North.  The  plans 
for  it  she  had  drawn  up  before  she  left  Sweden  for  Italy, 
and  submitted  them  to  Pope  Urban  V.  who  approved  of 
her  idea  and  sanctioned  the  establishment  of  the  order  in 
August,  1370. 

Birgitta  selected  Vadstena,  on  lake  Vettern,  as  the  home 
of  the  order,  and  began  the  building  of  the  cloister,  and 
from  this  spot  it  spread,  the  Abbess  of  Vadstena  being 
the  head  of  the  whole  community. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  this  new  order  was  the  fact  that 
both  monks  and  nuns  lived  in  the  one  establishment,  but, 
of  course,  in  their  own  separate  parts  of  it. 

Each  cloister  of  the  order  consisted  of  sixty  nuns  (sorores), 
thirteen  priest-monks  (fratres  presbyteri),  four  deacons 
(fratres  diaconi),  and  eight  lay  brothers  (fratres  laid). 

The  thirteen  priests  were  to  represent  the  thirteen 
Apostles — i.e.,  in  eluding  St.  Paul — the  four  deacons,  the  four 
fathers  of  the  Church.  The  sixty  nuns,  four  deacons,  and 
eight  lay  brothers  were  intended  to  represent  our  Lord  and 
his  first  disciples.  The  abbess  was  to  rule  all,  and  to 
represent  the  Blessed  Virgin.  The  nuns  were  the  real 
core  and  centre  of  the  cloister,  and  the  monks  were  merely 
added  to  perform  the  Church  services  and  to  manage  its 
secular  affairs.  Every  church  contained  thirteen  altars. 
One  priest  was  chosen  as  confessor  generalis,  who  acted  as 
secretary  and  adviser  of  the  abbess.^ 

The    body    of    Birgitta   was   brought    from    Eome    to 
*  Lange's  Norske  Klostres  Historic,  pages  53  et  seq. 


262  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Vadstena,  where   it   now   rests,  along  with  that   of  her 
daughter,  St.  Katharine  of  Sweden. 

In  spite  of  the  revival  of  Church  life  in  the  North,  of 
which  the  new  Order  of  the  Saviour  was  an  evidence,  there 
is  unfortunately  but  little  doubt  that  the  ordinary  religious 
life  of  the  people  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  at  the  end  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  The  terrible  visitations  of  the  Black 
Death  and  the  other  plagues  which  followed,  brought  about 
the  usual  results  which  such  disasters  have  produced  in 
different  lands.  There  were  those  who,  like  many  in  days 
when  pestilence  raged,  plunged  only  deeper  into  dissipation, 
and  sought  to  drown  the  thoughts  of  death  and  judgment, 
in  carousing  and  debauchery.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
were  others  who  turned  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  whose 
religion  became  a  sort  of  fanatical  mysticism,  and  lost  that 
practical  form  which  manifests  itself  in  a  "  godly,  righteous, 
and  sober  life." 

Norway,  bereft  by  the  plague,  of  priests  whose  "lips  should 
keep  knowledge,"  and  having  only  young  and  ignorant  men, 
who  ministered  in  the  priest's  office,  soon  fell  away  from  the 
high  standard  which  had  been  maintained  in  former  gene- 
rations. 

We  have  preserved  to  us  an  account  of  the  condition  of 
the  Church  in  Norway  at  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  century 
from  the  pen  of  the  well-known  Theodore  of  Niem,  who  was 
bishop  of  Verden,  afterwards  archbishop  of  Cambray,  and 
who  died  there  in  1417.* 

In  his  account  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  the  North  of 
Europe  he  says,  speaking  of  Norway  : —  t 

"  The   clergy  here   are,  as   a   rule,   poor  in  dress  and 

*  Theodore,  or  Dietrich,  was  probably  born  early  in  the  14th  century. 
He  was  employed  in  the  papal  curia,  where  he  was  "abbreviator  and 
scriptor  "  under  Urban  VI.  His  "  Nemus  Unionis  "  is  a  large  work 
dealing  with  schism,  printed  at  Basle,  1566.  The  most  recent  Life  of 
Theodore  is  that  by  Georg  Erler,  "  Dietrich  von  Nieheim." 

t  "  Nemus  Unionis,"  Chapter  xxxv. 


THEODORE  OF  NIEM  ON  NORWAY,  263 

adornments,  and  perform  the  Divine  service  with  few  cere- 
monies and  no  solemnity.  Neither  are  they  to  any  great 
degree  imbued  with  liberal  arts  or  other  sciences.  But  from 
habit  or  custom  in  Norway,  both  clergy  and  laymen  drink 
equally  hard,  and  if  any  one  cannot  drink  himself  drunk 
in  beer  beyond  all  measure,  he  considers  himself  to  be  very 
unhappy.  They  challenge  one  another  to  drinking  bouts, 
and  no  one  who  had  not  seen  it,  can  imagine  how  much 
both  sexes  can  drink  at  a  time,  and  they  continue  at  this 
until  they  fall  to  the  ground  in  a  state  of  intoxication. 
Whoever  is  best  able  to  empty  his  cups  is  considered  to 
have  beaten  the  others  in  bodily  strength  and  vigour. 

"In  these  places  (Ireland  and  Norway)  it  is  permitted 
to  bishops  and  clergy  publicly  to  keep  concubines,  and 
when  the  bishop  twice  a  year  visits  his  diocese  he  brings 
his  beloved  one  with  him  to  the  houses  of  the  priests.  The 
concubine  herself  would  not  allow  her  episcopal  lover  to 
go  on  these  visitations  without  her,  partly  because  he  fares 
sumptuously  with  the  priests,  and  into  th'e  bargain  receives 
gifts  from  those  who  are  visited,  and  partly  also  because  she 
wishes  to  look  after  her  lover,  lest  he  should  fall  in  love  with 
another  who  should  be  better  looking,  and  so  do  an  injury 
to  her. 

"  If  by  chance  any  of  the  priests  who  are  being  visited  have 
no  concubines,  they  are  looked  upon  as  traitors  to  the  in- 
herited custom,  and  have  to  give  the  visiting  bishop  double 
hospitality.  And  so  it  is  the  custom  that  in  these  countries 
the  priest's  concubine,  or  wife,  should  have  precedence  and 
rank  in  Church  and  at  table,  in  walking  and  in  sitting, 
and  standing  before  other  women,  even  the  wives  of 
knights." 

It  is  not  easy  to  say  exactly,  how  much  truth  there  is  in 
this  very  unfavourable  account  of  the  bishops  and  priests 
of  Norway ;  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  it  was  very 
grossly  exaggerated,  and  that  Theodore  wrote  about  matters 


264  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

of  which  he  appears  to  have  had  no  personal  knowledge,  as 
he  never  seems  to  have  visited  Norway.  It  is  very 
doubtful  if  the  bishops,  surrounded  as  they  were  by  many 
of  the  regular  clergy,  who  would  only  have  been  too  ready  to 
report  their  faults  to  Borne,  would  have  thus  dared  so  openly 
to  set  canon  law  at  defiance.  We  have  plenty  of  evidence 
as  to  the  way  in  which  they  attempted  to  prevent  the  priests 
contracting  these  unions,  which,  though  forbidden  by  the 
Church's  law,  were  yet  quite  in  accordance  with  the  law  of 
the  land,  and  as  such  recognized  by  the  priests.  Theodore 
was  scarcely  in  a  position  to  criticize  too  severely  the  morality 
of  the  Norwegian  bishops,  and  his  virtuous  indignation 
merely  expended  itself  in  words,  which  were  not  exactly 
in  accordance  with  his  actions.  In  an  inventory  of  the 
various  possessions  bestowed  on  him  by  the  Koman  curia, 
Cecchus  casually  mentions  (without  wishing  to  cast  any 
reproach  on  Theodore's  morality)  a  house  as  that  which  his 
concubine  inhabited  !  *  But  the  description  of  the  drunken- 
ness of  both  priest  and  people  is  a  sad  and  probably  true 
one,  and  rendered  all  the  more  sad  when  contrasted  with 
the  picture  drawn  some  centuries  before  by  a  much  greater 
writer,  Adam  of  Bremen. 

*  "  Dietrich  von  Nieheim,"  p.  406. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
ERIK—TO  THE  DEATH  OF  KRISTOFER  OF  BAVARIA. 

Condition  of  the  Church — Erik's  Ecclesiastical  Policy — Action  of  the 
Scandinavian  Prelates  in  the  Great  Schism — Aslak  Bolt,  Arch- 
bishop— His  Work  for  the  Church — Council  at  Oslo — Denmark 
and  Sweden  reject  Erik— Norway  follows  and  Elects  Kristofer— 
Short  Reign  and  Death  of  Kristofer  (1448). 

THOUGH  the  state  of  the  Norwegian  Church  at  the  close 
of  the  fourteenth  century  was  far  from  being  a  satisfactory 
one,  still  it  certainly  did  not  altogether  deserve  the  severe 
strictures  of  the  future  archbishop  of  Cambray.  It  is 
possible,  indeed,  that,  in  some  respects,  it  might  even  have 
contrasted  favourably  with  the  condition  of  some  of  the 
other  national  Churches  at  that  particular  period,  but  it 
had  undoubtedly  fallen  away  from  the  very  high  standard 
of  life  and  morals,  for  which  it  had  been  remarkable  in  the 
earlier  days.  There  were,  however,  evidences  of  a  revival 
of  Church  life,  such  as  the  newly-established  Order  of  the 
Holy  Saviour,  which  soon  found  a  home  for  itself  in 
Norway  as  well  as  in  Sweden,  and  the  rules  of  this  new 
order  made  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  language 
"  understanded  of  the  people,"  one  of  its  most  prominent 
features.  Had  the  times  been  more  favourable,  the  revival 
might  have  progressed  and  the  Church  of  Norway  regained 
the  ground  it  had  lost  by  reason  of  the  Black  Death.  The 
political  conditions,  however,  reacted  unfavourably  on  it, 
because  the  Government  of  Margaret  and  Erik  made  use 
of  all  the  important  ecclesiastical  posts  to  serve  its  own 
purposes,  and  so  checked  and  stunted  the  growth  and 


266  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

development  of  the  Church's  life.  The  highest  offices  were 
bestowed  as  rewards  for  political  services. 

We  find,  therefore,  that  a  very  considerable  number  of 
Danes  and  Swedes  were  preferred  to  the  vacant  sees  and 
canonries  in  Norway,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  native  Norwe- 
gian clergy.  This  was  not  necessarily  in  itself  a  bad  thing, 
as  the  infusion  of  new  blood  might  have  helped  in  a  great 
measure  to  revive  the  life  of  the  Church,  at  a  time  when  it 
was  at  such  a  low  ebb.  But  the  men  who  were  appointed 
were  not,  as  a  rule,  of  a  type  likely  to  advance  the 
prosperity  of  the  Church. 

Nicholas  Euser,  for  example,  was  hardly  the  kind  of 
archbishop  to  whom  we  might  look  for  any  develop- 
ment of  religious  life  in  his  province,  and  his  sole  aim 
during  his  brief  tenure  of  the  seat  of  E}^stein,  seems 
to  have  been  his  own  personal  aggrandisement,  and, 
having  accomplished  that,  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in 
Denmark.  These  foreign  prelates  never  seem  even  to  have 
attempted  to  win  the  regard  of  their  clergy  and  people. 
Many  of  them  were  cordially  hated  in  their  dioceses,  and 
their  oppressions  and  exactions  helped  to  fan  the  fire  of 
discontent  which  was  smouldering  in  Norway.* 

Archbishop  Yinalde  Henrikss0n  died  in  1402,  and  his 
successor  was  Askell,  or  Eskill,  who  was  a  native  Norwegian. 
His  episcopate,  which  lasted  until  1428,  was  entirely 
uneventful.  He  was  not  consecrated  until  1404. 

The  Norwegian  bishops  were,  of  course,  summoned  to 
the  Council  of  Pisa  (1409),  but  none  of  them  went  to 
it.  At  the  beginning  of  the  great  schism  in  the  papacy 
(1378)  the  Norwegian  Church  supported  Urban  VI.  and 
his  side.  When  at  the  Council  of  Pisa  the  confusion  in 
the  Church  was  made  still  worse  by  the  appointment  of  a 

*  The  policy  of  Margaret  and  Erik  was  very  like  that  of  the  English 
Government  towards  the  Irish  Church  in  the  eighteenth  and  early  years 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 


DEATH  OF  QUEEN  MARGARET.        267 

third  pope,  the  allegiance  of  the  North  seems  to  have 
been  divided.  At  first  Queen  Margaret  and  Erik,  with  the 
clergy  generally,  in  Sweden  and  Denmark,  and  presumably 
Norway  (though  we  have  no  certain  information),  main- 
tained the  cause  of  Gregory  XII.  Some  of  the  Swedish 
bishops  and  chapters  gave  their  support  to  Alexander  V., 
and  eventually  the  queen  and  King  Erik,  and  the  bishops 
and  clergy  of  the  three  kingdoms,  took  the  same  course. 

In  1412  the  great  Queen  Margaret  passed  away,  having 
for  almost  forty  years  practically  guided  the  destinies  of 
Norway  and  Denmark,  and  for  a  somewhat  shorter  period 
of  Sweden  as  well.  She  had  been  to  Flensborg,  in  Jylland, 
and  had  gone  on  board  her  ship  to  return  home,  when  she 
was  suddenly  seized  with  illness,  and  expired  on  October 
28th  at  the  age  of  sixty. 

Margaret  is  undoubtedly  the  most  remarkable  woman 
we  meet  with  in  the  history  of  Norway.  The  daughter  of 
Valdemar  "  Atterdag,"  *  with  whose  accession  a  new  era  of 
life  and  prosperity  began  to  dawn  upon  Denmark,  after  a 
long  period  of  national  disaster  and  internal  strife,  she 
inherited  many  of  the  characteristics  of  her  father  ;  her 
ambition  was  boundless,  and  she  never  hesitated  as  to  the 
means  which  she  used  to  compass  her  ends.  She  knew 
more  of  statecraft  than  any  of  the  monarchs  with  whom 
she  came  in  contact,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
at  Kalmar  she  laid  the  foundation  of  a  scheme,  which 
only  wanted  capable  men  to  direct  it,  and  might  have 
materially  altered  the  history  of  the  North  of  Europe. 

Whilst  we  cannot  fail  to  admire  her  great  genius,  it  is 
impossible  to  shut  our  eyes  to  her  overweening  ambition 
and  love  of  power  both  in  Church  and  State.  It  was  her 

*  He  probably  received  the  name  of  "  Atterdag  "  (the  new  day)  from 
this  fact.  Other  explanations  of  the  name  are  given,  such  as  his  usual 
adage,  "  To-morrow  we  shall  have  a  day  again" ;  or  his  frequent  use  of 
the  German  expression  of  surprise,  "  der  Tage  ! " 


268  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

father's  opinion  that  Nature  had  made  a  mistake  in  her 
case — she  should  have  been  a  man,  and  not  a  woman  ;  and, 
indeed,  she  it  was  who  played  the  man,  whilst  her  feeble 
husband  and  most  of  the  other  chiefs  in  her  day,  were  but 
as  puppets  in  her  hands.  The  greatness  of  her  personal 
power  can  be  seen  by  the  way  in  which,  as  soon  as  she 
died,  the  fabric  she  had  built  up  with  such  skill  began  to 
crumble  to  the  ground. 

The  queen's  body  was  not  taken  from  her  native  land. 
She  was  buried  in  the  great  cathedral  of  Koskilde,  the 
Westminster  of  Denmark.  There,  just  behind  the  high 
altar,  a  white  marble  effigy  marks  the  spot  where,  "  after 
life's  fitful  fever,"  the  great  queen  who  had  welded  the 
three  Scandinavian  nations  into  one  kingdom,  sleeps  her 
last  sleep.* 

But  now  there  came  a  temporary  revival  of  the  Church 
life  in  Norway  under  the  rule  of  a  new  and  energetic 
archbishop.  In  1428  Archbishop  Askell  died,  and  the 
chapter  chose  as  his  successor  Bishop  Aslak  Harniktss0n 
Bolt,  of  Bergen,  to  which  see  he  had  been  consecrated  in 
1408.  It  was  not,  however,  until  January  1430,  that  the 
pope  agreed  to  permit  his  translation  from  Bergen  to 
Nidaros.  The  new  metropolitan  was  a  man  of  a  different 
stamp  from  his  immediate  predecessors.  He  was  a  strong 
man  in  every  way,  and  though  possessed  of  a  rather  violent 
temper,  was  admirably  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  Church  in 
his  time.  He  was  learned  in  the  Scriptures  and  the  canon 
law,  and  during  his  episcopate  did  much  to  raise  the 
standard  of  religion  in  Norway.  He  was  the  first  arch- 
bishop who  acted  as  papal  legate. 

As  soon  as  his  translation  to  Nidaros  was  accomplished, 
he  set  himself  vigorously  to  work  to  improve  the  condition 

*  Though  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  the  political  genius  of  the  queen, 
we  may  perhaps  demur  to  the  inscription  on  her  tomb, "  To  the  memory 
of  that  Princess  whom  posterity  cannot  honour  beyond  her  merits." 


ARCHBISHOP  ASLAK  BOLT.  269 

of  the  finances  of  the  Church,  and  especially  of  his  cathedral. 
A  diligent  visitation  of  his  diocese,  which  was  undertaken 
immediately  after  he  went  to  Nidaros,  revealed  the  fact 
that  the  old-established  contributions  authorized  by  the 
Kristenret  had  not  been  paid  regularly.  These  had  been 
granted  for  the  support  of  the  cathedral,  and  had  cus- 
tomarily been  paid  either  in  money  or  in  kind.  They 
were  known  as  the  "  Olaf's  corn  "  and  the  "  Michel's  corn  "  ; 
the  latter  received  its  name  from  being  paid  at  Michaelmas. 
The  devastating  fire  at  the  cathedral,  caused  by  lightning,  in 
July,  1431,  made  the  demand  for  these  contributions 
specially  opportune.  Another  instance  of  the  archbishop's 
zeal  is  shown  by  the  compilation  about  the  year  1440  of  an 
inventory  of  all  the  property  of  the  Church  in  his  diocese, 
which  he  caused  to  be  made  in  the  same  way  as  the  bishop 
of  Oslo  (Eystein  Aslakss0n)  had  done  fifty  years  before. 
The  archbishop's  inventory  was  known  as  Aslak  Bolt's 
"  Jordebog  "  (book  of  temporalities),  and  still  survives.* 

It  was  in  the  first  half  of  this  century,  that  the  Birgitta 
order  began  to  spread  in  Norway,  and  the  archbishop,  when 
Bishop  of  Bergen,  had  introduced  it  into  the  country  in  con- 
junction with  Stein,  the  abbot  of  the  Benedictine  cloister  of 
Munkeliv,  in  Bergen.  This  monastery  had  purposely,  it 
seemed,  been  allowed  to  become  almost  empty,  and  afforded 
an  opportunity  for  converting  it  into  a  habitation  for  the 
new  order  (1426).  This  was  approved  by  the  head  cloister 
of  the  order  at  Vadstena,  in  Sweden,  in  1434,  and  it  thus 

*  The  "Jordebog"  was  published  in  Christiania  in  1852.  It  was 
edited  by  the  late  Professor  P.  A,  Munch.  In  the  introduction  to  the 
volume  Professor  Munch  mentions  the  way  in  which  this  inventory 
survived.  It  was  taken  from  Trondhjem,  along  with  other  archives,  by 
the  last  archbishop,  Olaf  Engelbrektss0n,  when  he  fled  to  Holland  in 
1537.  From  thence  it  was  carried  to  Heidelberg,  and  finally  to 
Munich,  where  it  remained  until  1830,  when  a  vast  variety  of 
documents  relating  to  the  three  Scandinavian  kingdoms,  were  restored 
to  their  respective  countries. 


270  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

became  the  first  establishment  belonging  to  the  new  com- 
munity in  Norway. 

Archbishop  Aslak  determined  to  revive  the  practice  of 
holding  provincial  councils,  which  had  been  abandoned 
since  the  time  of  Archbishop  Olaf ;  but  his  first  attempt  in 
this  direction  was  not  very  successful.  In  1435  he  sum- 
moned a  council  to  meet  in  Bergen,  but  to  his  great 
chagrin  none  of  his  suffragans  put  in  an  appearance.  The 
bishop  of  Bergen  alone  among  the  Norwegian  prelates,  had 
any  legitimate  excuse  for  being  absent,  as  he  was  in  Sweden 
on  business  for  the  king.  The  bishops  of  Hamar  and  Oslo, 
who  were  Danes  and  very  unpopular,  seem  to  have  been 
the  most  obnoxious  in  this  passive  resistance  to  the  arch- 
bishop's authority.  Aslak,  however,  refrained  from  any 
open  quarrel  with  them,  but  suspended  the  abbot  of 
Halsn0  for  his  disobedience,  and,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of 
the  other  bishops,  proceeded  with  some  legislative  measures. 
Among  others,  laws  were  passed  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  begging  monks  collecting  contributions  without  a 
licence  from  the  bishop  of  the  diocese.  Though  he  had  been 
to  a  very  considerable  extent  thwarted  in  his  plans  for 
reform,  the  archbishop  did  not  give  up  the  intention  of 
holding  councils,  and  summoned  another  to  meet  at  Oslo  in 
December,  1436. 

Before  this  met,  however,  the  discontent  which  had  long 
existed  in  Norway,  ended  at  last  in  open  rebellion.  King 
Erik  had  for  many  years  ceased  to  visit  that  part  of  his 
dominions,  and  had  not,  it  would  seem,  been  there  since 
1405.  The  administration  of  the  law  and  collection  of 
taxes,  was  entrusted  by  the  king  chiefly  to  Danes,  who 
ground  down  the  people,  and  whose  exactions  produced 
very  bitter  feelings.  The  increased  taxation  on  account  of 
the  Slesvig  war  was  also  extremely  unpopular.  The 
centre  of  the  discontent  was  in  the  diocese  of  Oslo,  whose 
bishop,  Jens,  or  Jon  as  he  is  called  by  some,  was  very  much 


COUNCIL  AT  OSLO.  271 

hated.  Appeals  were  made  to  King  Erik  for  justice,  but 
they  met  with  no  response,  and  in  the  summer  of  1436  the 
people  rose  in  rebellion  under  Amund  Sigurdss0n  at 
T0nsberg.  The  king's  men  met  the  rebel  leader,  and  a 
truce  was  arranged  for  a  short  time,  but  on  the  expiration 
of  it  Amund  proceeded  to  Oslo,  where  he  seized  the  bishop's 
palace,  but  was  in  his  turn  besieged  there  by  the  royal 
adherents.  Finally  a  peace  was  made  in  December  of  1436, 
and  Amund  was  promised  an  amnesty  for  himself  and  his 
followers. 

Immediately  after  this  the  provincial  council  called  by 
the  archbishop  met  on  December  20th,  and  this  time 
several  of  the  bishops  were  present,  but  not  the  bishop  of 
Oslo.  The  legislation  of  this  council  proceeded  on  the 
usual  lines,  and  enforced  various  regulations  which  had 
been  made  at  other  like  assemblies,  regarding  morals  and 
discipline.  The  most  important  work,  however,  was  an 
effort  made  by  the  archbishop  to  improve  the  learning  of 
the  native  clergy,  and  so  to  take  away  the  excuse  of 
appointing  foreigners  to  posts  in  Norway  on  the  ground  of 
their  better  education.  To  do  this  he  appropriated  a  part 
of  the  tithe  which  the  Kristenret  gave  to  the  poor — an 
illegal  proceeding  doubtless,  but  one  which  the  exigencies 
of  the  time  seemed  to  demand.  We  may  here  mention 
that  some  sixteen  years  before  this,  the  University  of 
Eostock  had  been  established,  and  from  that  time  onwards 
the  clergy  of  the  three  northern  kingdoms  who  were 
educated  abroad,  chiefly  studied  there  instead  of  in  England 
or  France,  as  had  been  the  custom  in  the  earlier  days.  This 
was  not  without  its  effect  on  the  subsequent  history.  It 
largely  helped  to  sever  the  close  connection  between  the 
Churches  of  England  and  Norway,  which  had  existed  from 
the  time  of  the  first  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the 
latter  country.  Henceforward  Norway  came  under  the 
influence  of  German  thought  and  theology.  If  the  old  historic 


272  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

connection  with  England  had  been  maintained,  the  results 
which  followed  the  breach  with  Kome  in  the  next  century 
might  have  been  different,  and  the  Church  in  Norway 
have  followed  in  the  same  course  as  that  of  England, 
and  not  have  lost,  with  the  historic  episcopate,  its  place  in 
the  Catholic  Church. 

The  council  at  Oslo,  before  separating,  called  together  a 
number  of  representatives  from  the  discontented  part  of 
the  country,  and  addressed  once  more,  a  strong  appeal  to 
the  king  to  assert  his  authority,  and  to  put  away  the  abuses 
which  were  everywhere  complained  of.  They  seem  to  have 
been  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  great  loyalty  to  their  unworthy 
monarch,  when  the  two  other  sister  nations  had  rejected 
him,  and  were  only  anxious  he  should  come  and  rule  over 
them,  with  some  of  the  old  spirit  which  had  marked  his 
ancestors.  But  this  appeal  was  practically  useless.  King 
Erik  had  had  enough  of  his  three  troublesome  kingdoms, 
and  Denmark  and  Sweden  had  no  wish  to  have  him  any 
longer.  In  1437  he  left  Denmark  and  went  to  Gotland, 
thus  practically  abdicating,  but  taking  no  formal  step.  The 
Danes  now  offered  the  crown  to  Kristofer  of  Bavaria, 
Erik's  nephew,  the  son  of  his  sister  Katharina,  who  had 
married  John  of  Bavaria,  and  declared  Erik  deposed.  The 
Swedes  also  deposed  the  king,  and  nominated  Karl 
Knutss0n  as  governor  of  their  country. 

Norway,  however,  still  held  to  her  lawful  but  worthless 
monarch,  and  actually  attacked  the  Swedes  on  his  behalf, 
but  without  any  important  result. 

Then  the  chiefs  made  one  more  appeal  to  Erik,  and 
sent  men  to  ask  that  he  would  appoint  a  "  drotsete,"  which 
he  did,  and  nominated  Sigurd  Jonss0n  (1439). 

After  this,  when  both  Sweden  and  Denmark  had  accepted 
Kristofer  as  king  (he  was  crowned  at  Upsala  in  September, 
1441),  they  wished  Norway  to  join  with  them.  Mean- 
while the  Norwegians  had  held  a  meeting  at  Oslo,  under 


KRISTOFER  OP  BAVARIA.  273 

the  presidency  of  Archbishop  Aslak,  and  decided  to  send 
once  more  to  Erik,  representing  the  state  of  the  country, 
and  intimating  that  if  he  could  not  do  something  they  must 
abandon  his  cause.  The  ambassadors  appointed  never 
reached  the  king,  as  they  were  stopped  in  Denmark.  One 
more  appeal  seems  to  have  been  made  to  Erik,  but,  like 
the  others,  it  led  to  nothing.  After  this  a  meeting  with  the 
Swedes  was  held  at  Kalmar,  but  the  question  of  the  king 
was  not  decided. 

In  1442  the  Norwegians  finally  abandoned  Erik,  and 
at  a  meeting  held  at  L0d0se  the  archbishop  and  the 
Norwegian  representatives  agreed  to  accept  Kristofer  as 
their  king,  and  he  came  to  Norway  in  July  of  the  same 
year,  and  was  crowned  at  Oslo. 

Erik  had  reigned  nominally  for  fifty- two  years  over 
Norway,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  he  practically  spent  but 
little  if  any  time  in  the  country  ;  and  in  the  early  part  of 
his  life  all  the  real  power  lay  in  the  hands  of  Queen 
Margaret.  After  his  deposition  he  continued  to  live  for 
some  years  in  his  strong  castle  at  Gotland,  where  he  ex- 
hibited perhaps  the  only  trace  of  his  historic  ancestry,  by 
following  the  lucrative  occupation  of  a  sea  rover.  In  1449 
he  retired  to  his  domains  in  Pomerania,  where,  after  another 
ten  years,  he  died  in  1459  at  the  age  of  76. 

Kristofer's  reign  over  Norway  was  of  short  duration,  but 
under  it  the  country  settled  down,  after  its  disturbed  state 
in  the  closing  years  of  Erik's  reign.  The  "  drotsete  "  sur- 
rendered his  office  when  the  new  king  was  crowned,  and  no 
events  of  importance,  ecclesiastical  or  civil,  have  to  be 
recorded.  Kristofer  died  suddenly  at  Helsingborg  in  1448, 
having  been  king  of  Norway  for  a  little  over  five  years. 
Though  personally  very  popular  from  his  genial  nature,  he 
was  not  the  man  to  overcome  the  difficulties  with  which  he 
was  confronted.  In  Denmark  he  was  entirely  helpless  to 
withstand  the  arrogance  of  the  nobility,  and  in  other  parts  of 

C.S.N.  T 


274  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

his  dominions,  the  Hanseatic  league  was  too  strong  for 
him.  Had  he  lived  longer  and  proved  a  capable  governor, 
many  of  the  subsequent  troubles  of  Norway  might  have 
been  averted,  and  instead  of  a  period  of  practical  extinction 
of  national  life,  which  lasted  for  over  three  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  Norway  might  have  held  a  position  of  importance 
among  the  nations  of  Northern  Europe. 

But  this  was  not  to  be.  "We  have  now  to  enter  upon 
the  dark  period  of  the  history  of  Norway  in  both  Church 
and  State,  one  marked  by  but  few  episodes  to  relieve  the 
gloom  which  everywhere  prevailed.  When  we  think  of  it, 
we  are  filled  with  surprise  that  there  was  no  one  upon  whom 
the  spirit  of  the  kings  in  the  heroic  days  descended,  who 
would  go  forth  as  a  leader  of  men  to  free  the  Fatherland, 
and  restore  to  it  once  more,  that  national  life  which  in  the 
earlier  days  had  been  so  strong  and  vigorous. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

NORWAY   UNDER   DANISH    KINGS. 

Circumstances  which  led  to  the  Election  of  Kristian  I. — Bishop  Jens  of 
Oslo — Karl  of  Sweden  Crowned  at  Nidaros — His  Claim  surrendered 
— Council  of  Bergen — The  Church  under  Danish  Rule — Disputed 
Election  at  Nidaros  on  the  Death  of  Aslak  Bolt — King  Kristian 
and  Marcellus — The  Papal  Nominee  Henrik  Kalteisen,  appointed 
— Murder  of  Bishop  Thorleif  of  Bergen — Conflict  over  his  Successor 
— Olaf  Throndss0n  Archbishop  —Kristian  agrees  to  the  T0nsberg 
Concordat — The  Orkneys  and  Shetlands  surrendered — Foundation 
of  Copenhagen  University — Hans  succeeds  Kristian — The  Halmstad 
Recess — Hans  defeated  by  the  Ditmarskers — Rebellion  in  Norway, 
1501— Duke  Kristian  Governor  of  Norway — His  Treatment  of  the 
Bishop  of  Hamar — Erik  Valkendorf,  a  Dane,  Archbishop. 

THE  death  of  Kristofer  of  Bavaria,  and  the  events  which 
followed,  showed  how  feeble  were  the  links  which  held 
the  three  nations  together  in  the  Kalmar  union.  The 
regular  course  on  the  death  of  the  sovereign  of  the  united 
kingdoms,  would  have  been  for  the  duly  accredited  repre- 
sentatives of  each  nationality  to  have  met  and  chosen  a 
successor,  as  the  last  monarch  had  left  no  heir.  Instead  of 
this,  Sweden  and  Denmark  set  to  work  on  their  own 
account.  It  must  be  remembered  that  they  were  elective 
monarchies,  while  the  crown  in  Norway,  according  to  law, 
was  hereditary.  Kristofer  died  in  January,  1448,  and  in 
the  following  June  the  Swedish  Assembly,  or  Rigsdag, 
met  in  Stockholm,  and  forthwith  chose  Karl  Knutss0n  as 
king,  and  he  was  at  once  crowned  at  Upsala. 

The  Danes,  on  their  part,  made  overtures  to  Adolf  of 
Slesvig  to  occupy  the  vacant  throne ;  but  he  induced 
them  to  accept  in  his  place,  his  nephew  Kristian,  or 

T2 


276  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Christiern,  Count  of  Oldenborg,  and  he  was  chosen  as  king 
in  the  month  of  September. 

Norway  was  now  without  anyone  as  a  claimant  for  the 
throne,  and  in  default  of  heirs,  the  law  provided  that  the 
bishops  and  chief  men  should  meet  at  Nidaros  and  select 
a  suitable  person  as  king.  This,  however,  was  not  done, 
and  the  archbishop  was  in  Nidaros  while  the  chief  men  of 
the  kingdom  were  at  Oslo,  and  so  matters  were  left  for  the 
time,  with  Sigurd  Jonss0n  in  authority.  Meanwhile  both 
Sweden  and  Denmark  had  provided  themselves  with  kings, 
and  each  country  was  anxious  for  Norway  to  join  in  the 
arrangement  which  they  had  made.  There  were  now  two 
parties  in  the  Norwegian  Council,  one,  under  Archbishop 
Aslak,  in  favour  of  the  Swedish  king,  Karl,  and  the  other, 
led  by  Jens,  bishop  of  Oslo,  supporting  the  claims  of 
Kristian  of  Denmark.  There  was,  however,  one  man  who 
claimed  descent  from  the  old  royal  family  of  Norway — 
namely,  Sigurd  Jonss0n,  the  "drotsete,"  who  was  a  descen- 
dant of  Agnes,  the  illegitimate  daughter  of  Haakon  V., 
and  who  might  have  been  chosen  as  king  of  Norway,  only 
he  declined  the  honour.  The  majority  of  the  council  were 
in  favour  of  the  maintenance  of  the  Kalmar  union,  and  no 
step  was  taken  at  the  end  of  1448. 

In  February,  1449,  the  Norwegian  Council  again  met, 
and  after  some  discussion,  it  was  decided  to  send  Bishop 
Jens  and  Hartvig  Krummedike  as  their  representatives  to 
Denmark.  According  to  some  accounts  they  went  with 
express  instructions  not  to  tender  the  crown  to  Kristian, 
but  according  to  others  they  were  under  no  restrictions. 
The  two  ambassadors  were  Danes,  and  there  seems  no 
doubt  that  they  offered  the  crown  of  Norway  to  the 
Danish  king.  The  next  month  they  returned  to  Oslo, 
bringing  some  Danish  chief  men  with  them  and  a  writing 
from  Kristian.  Finally  a  majority  of  the  council  agreed 
to  accept  Kristian  as  king  of  Norway,  and  a  meeting  was 


KARL  CROWNED  AT  NIDAROS.  277 

arranged  to  be  held  at  Marstrand  in  July,  where  Kristian 
was  present.  The  meeting  was  duly  held,  and  the  newly- 
chosen  monarch  issued  a  manifesto  to  Norway.  It  was 
also  settled  that  Kristian  should  proceed  to  Nidaros  the 
next  year  to  receive  his  crown.  Meanwhile  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  archbishop 
and  Sigurd  Jonss0n. 

So  far  all  seemed  to  be  regular,  and  the  choice  of  King 
Kristian  a  free  election  on  behalf  of  the  Norwegian  Council ; 
but  the  Norwegian  chiefs  asserted  later,  that  all  that  they 
had  done,  both  at  Oslo  and  Marstrand,  was  under  com- 
pulsion, and  that  Bishop  Jens  and  his  brother  ambassador, 
came  back  supported  by  a  body  of  2,000  Danes,  and  the 
archbishop  and  the  Norwegian-Swedish  party  were  obliged 
to  agree  to  the  proposals  of  Bishop  Jens. 

Meanwhile  the  supporters  of  Karl  of  Sweden  had  not 
been  idle.  In  May  of  the  same  year,  he  had  been  chosen 
as  king  at  a  Thing  held  at  Nidaros,  and  in  October  he 
came  from  Sweden  to  the  Oplands,  and  was  also  accepted 
by  a  Thing  at  Hamar,  at  which  the  bishop  was  present. 
Then  he  went  north  to  Nidaros,  and  Archbishop  Aslak, 
who  had  by  this  time  returned  home  (on  the  ground  that 
he  had  acted  under  compulsion  at  both  Oslo  and  Marstrand), 
received  him,  and  crowned  him  in  the  cathedral  on 
November  20th.  A  few  days  after  Karl  retired  again  to 
Sweden.  There  were  now  two  kings  formally  accepted  by 
the  people  in  different  parts  of  Norway,  and  the  prepon- 
derance of  the  popular  vote  was  undoubtedly  given  to 
Karl.  The  bishops  were  divided,  the  archbishop,  and 
Bishop  Jens  of  Oslo,  heading  the  rival  parties,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  a  civil  war  was  inevitable.  In  the  winter 
Karl  made  an  attack  on  Oslo,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Danish  party,  but  afterwards  retreated  to  Sweden. 

When  the  spring  came,  negotiations  were  opened  between 
Kristian  and  Karl,  and  a  conference  held  between  their 


278  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

representatives  at  Halmstad.  Here,  it  would  seem,  Karl's 
cause  was  betrayed ;  the  greater  prelates  were  hostile  to  him, 
and  anxious  for  union  with  Denmark,  and  the  result  was 
that  his  claim  to  the  crown  of  Norway  was  surrendered. 

In  July,  1450,  Kristian  sailed  for  Nidaros  with  a  strong 
fleet,  and  met  with  no  opposition ;  the  archbishop  had 
died  at  the  end  of  1449,  and  there  was  no  one  to  lead  the 
national  party.  On  St.  Olaf  s  day  he  was  crowned  in  the 
cathedral,  possibly  by  Marcellus,  bishop  of  Skaalholt,  of 
whom  we  shall  hear  more  presently,  but  it  is  not  quite 
certain.  Before  he  left  Nidaros,  Kristian  issued  a  procla- 
mation to  the  people,  defending  his  title  to  the  crown  in 
opposition  to  Karl  of  Sweden. 

From  Nidaros  the  new  king  went  south  to  Bergen, 
where  he  held  a  meeting  of  the  council.  At  this  it  was 
decided  that  Norway  and  Denmark  were  hereafter  to  be 
for  ever  united  under  one  king,  but  that  each  kingdom 
was  to  be  entirely  independent.  This  completed  the  union 
of  Norway  and  Denmark,  which  led  to  such  disastrous 
consequences  to  the  former  kingdom,  and  which  survived 
for  the  long  period  of  364  years.  We  have  seen  the  active 
part  which  the  prelates  of  Norway  took  in  this  matter.  It 
is  difficult,  perhaps,  to  say  that  the  archbishop's  conduct 
was  very  straightforward  throughout,  though  if  it  be  true, 
as  was  asserted  by  the  Norwegian  party,  that  on  the  return 
of  Bishop  Jens  he  had  with  him  a  Danish  army,  then  it  is 
likely  that  Archbishop  Aslak  was  compelled,  against  his 
will,  to  assent  to  Kristian' s  nomination.  He  justified  his 
subsequent  action  on  that  ground,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  honestly  believed  that  the  Swedish  king's  rule 
would  be  likely  to  be  more  advantageous  to  his  country 
than  that  of  Kristian.  Bishop  Jens  of  Oslo  seems,  like 
Nicholas,  his  notorious  predecessor  in  that  see,  to  have 
been  a  crafty  and  treacherous  man,  and  to  have  betrayed 
the  interests  of  Norway  to  the  Danes.  He  was  himself  a 


KRISTIAN  I.  AND  MARCELLUS.  279 

Dane,  and  was  very  much  hated  by  the  people  in  his 
extensive  diocese,  so  much  so,  that  an  effort  was  made  at 
one  time  to  have  him  translated  to  Viborg,  and  the  bishop 
of  that  see  (who  was  a  Norwegian)  placed  in  Oslo ;  but  the 
arrangement  fell  through,  and  Jens  remained  in  possession 
of  his  see  until  his  death. 

We  shall  now  see  the  result  to  the  Church  in  Norway  of 
the  rule  of  the  Danish  kings,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  deliberately  set  themselves,  with  the  papal  sanction, 
to  destroy  the  right  of  free  election,  for  which  the  Church 
had  so  long  and  zealously  striven.  The  efforts  of  the 
king  and  the  popes,  were  directed  to  placing  in  all  the 
highest  offices  of  the  Church,  men  who  had  no  interest  in 
the  country,  and  were,  as  a  rule,  ignorant  of  its  language 
and  customs,  and  who  were  appointed  as  a  reward  for 
services  rendered  to  the  papacy  or  the  Danish  court. 

The  accession  of  Kristian  I.  was  marked  by  the  commence- 
ment of  a  long  conflict,  which  left  the  Church  in  Norway 
without  a  primate  for  a  period  of  nearly  ten  years,  and  in 
which  the  struggle  between  the  popes  and  the  king,  against 
the  canonically- elected  archbishop,  did  infinite  harm  to  the 
cause  of  religion  in  Norway. 

Archbishop  Aslak  Bolt  died,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  end 
of  1449,  and  before  the  arrival  of  Kristian  I.  in  Norway. 
On  his  death  the  chapter  of  Nidaros  elected,  as  his 
successor,  one  of  their  own  body,  Olaf  Throndss0n.  This 
took  place,  it  would  seem,  before  July,  1450,  in  which 
month  Kristian  arrived  at  Nidaros.  There  was  nothing  to 
be  alleged  against  the  newly-chosen  archbishop,  but  King 
Kristian  had  a  fixed  policy  in  his  mind,  which  was  to  fill 
the  sees  of  Norway,  especially  the  primacy,  with  those 
upon  whom  he  could  depend  to  carry  out  his  wishes. 
Kristian  at  once  protested  against  the  election  of  Olaf 
Throndss0n,  on  the  ground  that  his  approval  had  not  been 
first  obtained. 


280  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

The  king's  object  in  this,  was  to  secure  the  post  for  a 
man  on  whom  he  reckoned  to  support  his  policy.  This 
was  Marcellus,  a  Franciscan  monk,  whom  he  had  succeeded 
in  inducing  the  pope  in  1448  or  1449  to  appoint  as  bishop 
of  Skaalholt,  in  Iceland.  Marcellus,  however,  merely  drew 
the  income  of  his  distant  diocese,  but  never  went  there. 
The  previous  life  of  the  bishop  of  Skaalholt  seems  to  have 
been  open  to  grave  suspicion,  and  it  was  supposed  that  he 
had  been  in  prison  for  frauds  of  one  kind  or  another.  It 
would,  however,  appear  that  these  charges,  if  not  ground- 
less, were  "not  proven,"  for  the  pope  appointed  commis- 
sioners later  on  to  investigate  them,  and  they  practically 
acquitted  him. 

In  Marcellus  King  Kristian  thought  he  had  the  man  he 
wanted  as  archbishop.     At  first,  however,  the  chapter  of 
Nidaros  were  unwilling  to  give  way,  but  a  compromise 
was  arranged  by  which  it  was  agreed  to  refer  the  dispute 
between   the  king  and  the  chapter  to  arbitration.     The 
arbitrators  (among  whom,  curiously,  was  Marcellus  him- 
self)   decided    in    the    king's    favour,    and    upheld    his 
contention  that  his  consent  was  necessary  for  the  election, 
and  recommended  to  the  chapter  Marcellus,  "  the  king's 
chancellor   and   bishop  of   Skaalholt   and   papal   legate." 
Now  followed,  perhaps,  the  most  scandalous  episode  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  in  Norway.     Kristian  and  Marcellus 
entered  into  a  formal  contract  before  a  notary,  the  terms 
of  which  still  exist,  *  by  which,  as  a  reward  for  carrying 
out  the  king's  plans,  he  was  to  become   archbishop   of 
Nidaros.    Marcellus  was  to  go  to  Kome,  and  there  persuade 
the   pope  to   recognize  the  right  of  the   king  to  present 
to   the    bishoprics    in  Norway    and  Denmark,    and   also 
to    the    appointment    of    clergy,    and  further   that    the 
pope   should   sanction  the  union  of  the  three  kingdoms 
under   Kristian.     If   Marcellus   did   not   accomplish   this 

*  "  Diplomatarium  Norvegicum,"  Vol.  II.,  789. 


HENRIK  KALTEISEN.  281 

before  the  Christmas  twelvemonth  following,  the  bargain 
was  to  be  at  an  end,  and  the  king  might  appoint  someone 
else  to  Nidaros.  When  this  shameful  compact  had  been 
made,  Marcellus  was,  by  some  of  the  chapter,  chosen  as 
archbishop  in  place  of  Olaf,  whose  election  had  been 
declared  invalid,  and  Marcellus  went  off  with  his  monarch 
to  Denmark. 

The  king  and  Marcellus,  however,  reckoned  without 
their  host.  The  pope  (Nicholas  V.)  had  himself  another 
candidate.*  It  is  not  quite  clear  if  Marcellus  went  at 
once  to  Eome  in  accordance  with  the  compact,  but  in  any 
case  he  was  not  able  to  fulfil  his  part  in  time,  though  the 
king  did  not  abandon  him  as  his  candidate  on  this  account. 
The  pope  declined  to  recognize  him,  and  in  February, 
1452,  he  nominated  to  the  see  of  Nidaros,  Henrik  Kalteisen, 
a  German  by  birth,  and  one  who  had  proved  himself  most 
useful  to  the  Holy  See  at  the  Council  of  Basel.  Kalteisen 
was  a  learned  man  of  upright  life,  and  had  been  Inquisitor- 
general  in  Germany.  He  was  then  well  advanced  in  years, 
and  quite  ignorant  of  the  language  and  everything  else 
connected  with  Norway. 

The  position  of  affairs  was  now  a  curious  one.  Three 
men  had  been  nominated  to  the  vacant  see.  There  was, 
first,  what  we  might  call  the  national  candidate,  Olaf 
Throndss0n,  who  represented  the  Norwegian  Church,  and 
had  been  duly  chosen  by  the  Nidaros  chapter  after  the 
old  and  lawful  manner ;  secondly,  there  was  the  royal 
nominee,  Marcellus,  who  represented  the  claim  of  Kristian 
to  control  the  election;  and,  thirdly,  Henrik  Kalteisen, 

*  The  reader  will  note  how  this  case  presents  an  exact  parallel  to  the 
state  of  affairs  in  England,  in  the  famous  dispute  which  ended  in 
Stephen  Langton's  elevation  to  the  throne  of  Augustine.  There  was 
King  John's  nominee,  John  de  Gray  ;  the  elect  of  the  chapter  of 
Canterbury,  Reginald ;  and  the  papal  nominee,  Stephen.  Unfortunately 
for  Norway,  however,  Henrik  Kalteisen  did  not  turn  out  a  Stephen 
Langton. 


282  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

whom  the  pope  wished  to  force  on  both  the  national 
Church  and  the  king. 

Armed  with  papal  authority,  Kalteisen  betook  himself 
at  once  to  Kristian  in  Denmark.  The  king  for  the 
moment  found  it  wisest  to  give  way,  and,  abandoning  his 
candidate,  sent  Kalteisen  to  Norway.  Early  the  next 
year,  1453,  the  new  archbishop  was  in  Bergen,  and  in 
May  he  reached  Nidaros.  On  his  arrival,  Henrik  found 
that  his  new  post  was  very  far  from  being  a  pleasant  one. 
The  chapter,  with  more  courage  than  we  might  have  ex- 
pected under  the  circumstances,  protested  against  having 
as  archbishop  an  old  and  feeble  man,  who  would  be  unable 
to  withstand  the  fatigues  which  the  administration  and 
visitation  of  his  vast  diocese  must  entail,  and  who,  more- 
over, could  not  speak  the  language  of  his  people.  It  was 
only  natural  that  a  man  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the 
comforts  and  mode  of  living  of  the  south  of  Europe  would, 
in  his  old  days,  shrink  from  the  duties  which  lay  before 
him.  Henrik,  who  was  a  conscientious  man,  believed  it 
to  be  his  wisest  course  to  resign  the  archbishopric. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council,  which  was  held  in  Bergen 
in  October,  at  which  the  king  was  present,  he  expressed 
his  willingness  to  resign.  This  course  met  with  the  unani- 
mous approval  of  the  council,  and  a  letter  to  the  pope 
was  drawn  up,  begging  him  to  accept  Henrik' s  resignation 
and  to  appoint  either  Olaf  or  Marcellus,  as  his  successor. 
This,  however,  the  pope  refused  to  do,  and  matters  were 
again  at  a  deadlock. 

The  next  year  Marcellus  appears  to  have  gone  to  Eome 
to  urge  his  claims,  but  apparently  without  success,  and  on 
his  way  home  he  was  attacked,  plundered,  and  imprisoned 
at  Koln,  apparently  by  the  townsfolk,  but,  as  has  been 
supposed,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Eoman  authorities. 
Marcellus  appears  soon  to  have  obtained  his  release,  as  the 
next  year  we  hear  of  him  with  the  king  in  Denmark, 


THE    MARIA    KIRKE,     BERGEN. 

Founded  before  1183,  later  on  the   Church  of  the  Hanseatic  Merchants,  hence  called  Tyske 
(German)  Kirken.     The  German  language  was  used  in  the  Services  as  late  as  1868. 


[To  face  p.  282. 


BISHOP  THORLEIP  OF  BERGEN.  283 

whilst  Henrik  had  left  Norway  and  returned  to  the  papal 
court. 

While  matters  were  in  this  state  with  respect  to  the 
primacy,  a  terrible  tragedy  occurred  in  Bergen  in  Sep- 
tember, 1455 — one  happily  unique  in  the  history  of  the 
Norwegian  Church. 

The  bishop  of  Bergen  was  now  Thorleif  Olafss0n.  Before 
his  preferment  to  that  see  he  had  been  chaplain  to  King 
Erik,  and  afterwards  bishop  of  Viborg.  The  governor  of 
the  city  of  Bergen  was  Olaf  Nilss0n,  who  was  extremely 
unpopular  with  the  German  merchants  of  the  Hanseatic 
league,  on  account  of  the  way  in  which  he  defended  the 
rights  of  his  countrymen  against  these  traders,  who  sought 
to  control  all  the  business  of  the  town.  His  unpopularity 
became  so  great  that  the  king  removed  him  from  his  post, 
whereupon  Olaf,  getting  together  a  body  of  men,  captured 
the  Swedish  stronghold  of  Elfsborg,  and  offered  it  to  the 
king  on  condition  of  receiving  back  again  his  post  at 
Bergen.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  Olaf  Nilss0n  returned 
to  that  city.  Bishop  Thorleif  was  friendly  to  the  governor, 
and  endeavoured  to  adjust  the  differences  between  him  and 
the  German  residents. 

The  return  of  their  old  enemy  with  his  power  confirmed 
by  the  king,  roused  the  German  traders  to  madness.  In 
yain  the  bishop  did  his  best  to  make  peace,  but  the 
merchants  refused  to  listen  to  any  conditions.  Matters 
became  so  threatening  that  Olaf  Nilss0n  was  obliged  to 
seek  refuge  in  the  great  cloister  of  Munkeliv,  which 
crowned  the  ridge  which  divides  the  harbour  (the  opposite 
side  of  which  was  occupied  by  the  German  merchants) 
from  what  is  now  called  the  Pudde  Fjord.  To  this  place 
of  refuge  the  bishop  himself  went,  along  with  two  priests. 

On  the  1  st  of  September  the  outbreak  took  place.  Swarm- 
ing out  from  their  quarter,  the  Germans  and  their  followers, 
to  the  number  of  2,000,  marched  round  the  end  of  the 


284  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

harbour  and  attacked  the  great  cloister.  It  would  appear 
that  Olaf  Nilss0n  and  the  bishop  were  not  prepared  to 
resist  the  assault.  When  the  attack  was  made  the  bishop 
was  in  the  chapel.  The  doors  were  burst  open,  and  a  mob 
invaded  the  sacred  precincts.  The  bishop  went  to  the 
altar,  and,  taking  the  Host  with  him,  calmly  walked 
forward  to  meet  his  foes ;  but,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  was  their  bishop,  and  that  he  carried  in  his  right 
hand  the  sacred  Host,  he  was  at  once  cut  to  pieces,  as 
well  as  his  few  brave  adherents.  Olaf  Mlss0n  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  tower  of  the  monastery,  but  this  was  promptly 
set  on  fire.  The  smoke  soon  obliged  him  to  surrender, 
and  on  doing  so  he  was  at  once  put  to  death.  The  flames 
spread  to  the  rest  of  the  building,  and  soon  the  great 
Munkeliv  cloister  was  but  a  heap  of  smouldering  ruins. 

This  terrible  outrage  Kristian  at  first  hesitated  to 
punish;  but  the  pope  acted  with  greater  decision.  All 
concerned  in  the  rising  were  at  once  excommunicated  and 
heavily  fined,  and  the  duty  of  rebuilding  the  cloister  was 
laid  upon  the  German  residents  in  Bergen. 

Kristian,  however,  turned  this  matter  to  his  own  advan- 
tage. In  his  defence  to  the  pope,  he  pointed  out  that  this 
disturbance  and  murder  of  one  of  the  highest  officers  of 
the  Church,  was  an  evidence  of  how  much  the  country 
suffered  from  the  want  of  its  proper  ecclesiastical  head, 
and  he  again  pressed  forward  the  claims  of  Marcellus; 
but  neither  side  would  give  way.  Soon  another  point  in 
dispute  seemed  about  to  arise  between  the  king  and  the 
pope.  To  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  see  of  Bergen  caused 
by  the  murder  of  Bishop  Thorleif,  the  king  nominated 
Joachim  Grubbe,  a  Danish  noble,  but  as  he  was  under 
canonical  age  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  obtain  a 
papal  dispensation.  This  the  pope  promptly  refused,  and 
nominated  an  Italian,  Paolo  Justiniani.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, in  the  interests  of  peace,  Grubbe  died  at  this  time, 


THE  MEETING  AT  SKARA.  285 

and  the  king,  seeing  that  the  papal  nominee  might  be  very 
useful  to  him,  passed  over  the  pope's  arbitrary  action  in 
appointing  Paolo  to  the  vacant  see. 

It  was  in  1457  that,  Karl  Knutss0n  having  been  expelled 
from  Sweden,  Kristian  was  elected  king,  and  again  united 
the  three  kingdoms  under  one  monarch.  He  now  decided 
to  send  Paolo  Justiniani  to  Eome  to  try  once  more  to  gain 
the  papal  approval  of  Marcellus'  appointment  to  Nidaros. 
This  mission,  however,  was  a  failure,  and  in  1458  the 
pope  (Calixtus  III.)  died  and  Pius  II.  succeeded  him. 

But  now  at  last  Kristian  abandoned  the  cause  of 
Marcellus,  and  consented  to  recognize  Olaf  Throndss0n. 
Henrik  Kalteisen  having  persisted  in  his  resignation, 
the  pope  agreed  to  accept  Olaf,  and  he  was  consecrated 
in  1459,  more  than  nine  years  from  the  date  of  his 
election  by  the  Nidaros  chapter.  Marcellus  had  to  be 
content  with  his  Skaalholt  bishopric,  which  he  never 
visited,  and  in  1462  he  was  drowned  off  the  Swedish  coast. 

We  must  now  revert  to  the  year  1458,  when  an  impor- 
tant meeting  was  held  at  Skara,  in  the  month  of  January. 

King  Kristian  called  together  the  principal  ecclesiastics 
and  chief  men  of  Norway,  in  order  to  induce  them  to 
accept  his  son  Hans,  then  a  child  of  only  two  years  old, 
as  his  successor  to  the  crown  of  Norway.  This,  it  seems, 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  doing,  the  monarchy  in  Norway 
not  being  elective,  as  in  the  two  other  countries,  and  when 
Kristian  was  recognized,  it  followed  by  the  Norwegian  law 
that  his  eldest  son  should  succeed  him. 

At  this  gathering  Olaf  Throndss0n  was  present,  and 
though  the  king  had  practically  withdrawn  his  opposition 
to  him,  he  was  yet  only  archbishop-elect.  Along  with  him 
were  the  bishops  of  Oslo,  Hamar  and  Stavanger,  and  some 
other  prominent  clergy.  In  the  month  of  February  they 
induced  Kristian  to  accept  the  T0nsberg  Concordat,  which 
had  been  abandoned  since  the  time  of  Erik,  one  hundred  and 


286  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

sixty-eight  years  before.  This  was,  at  first  sight,  a  great 
triumph  on  the  part  of  the  Church  over  the  royal  power,  and 
we  may  wonder  how  it  was  that  Kristian,  who  was  determined 
to  make  the  Church  as  much  as  possible  subservient  to  him, 
would  for  a  moment  have  consented  to  such  a  proposal 
A  little  consideration,  however,  will  make  us  see  how  this 
came  about.  In  the  first  place,  the  king  was  very  anxious 
to  obtain  the  support  of  the  Church  in  Norway  for  his 
young  son  Hans,  and  to  obtain  this,  was  prepared  to  make 
very  great  apparent  concessions. 

In  spite  of  the  state  into  which  the  Church  had 
fallen,  it  was  still  the  greatest  power  in  the  land,  and,  as 
most  of  the  old  Norwegian  great  men  and  chiefs,  had  been 
replaced  by  Danes,  the  ecclesiastics  represented  the  popular 
feeling  in  Norway  more  than  any  other  class.  Again, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  very  great  concessions 
of  the  T0nsberg  Concordat  were  at  this  time  of  compara- 
tively little  importance:  the  whole  state  of  things  had 
changed.  The  power  of  the  papacy  was  widely  different 
from  what  it  had  been,  and  although  a  power  was  given  to 
the  Church  beyond  anything  which  it  had  before,  except  for 
the  few  years  in  which  the  concordat  lasted,  yet,  as  has 
well  been  pointed  out,  it  was  only  an  authority  on  paper, 
and  the  very  worst  instances  of  oppression  and  disregard 
of  the  rights  of  the  Norwegian  Church  took  place,  we  shall 
find,  under  his  successor.  The  semblance  of  power  was 
given,  but  none  of  the  reality.  It  is  only  fair  to  Kristian 
to  say  that  he  seems,  on  the  whole,  for  the  rest  of  his  reign 
to  have  refrained  from  interference  in  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  Church  in  Norway. 

We  must  here  mention  a  political  event  which  affected 
the  Church,  as  it  tended  to  further  reduce  the  limits  of 
the  province  of  Nidaros.  "We  have  already  seen  how  the 
diocese  of  Sodor  and  Man  had  become  detached  from  it, 
and  now  another  portion  of  the  British  Isles  was  about 


ORKNEYS  AND  SHETLANDS  LOST  TO  NORWAY.    287 

to  follow  in  the  same  way.  Kristian,  unable  to  find  the 
dowry  (60,000  gylden)  of  his  daughter  Margaret,  who 
married  James  III.  of  Scotland,  promised  in  lieu  of  it 
(1469)  to  abandon  the  tribute  which  the  Scottish  kings 
had  paid  for  the  Hebrides  since  the  time  of  Magnus  Laga- 
b0ter.  This,  however,  was  not  enough,  so  he  was  obliged 
to  pledge  first  the  Orkneys,  and  then  the  Shetlands,  and 
thus  the  ancient  authority  of  the  kings  of  Norway  over 
these  portions  of  the  British  Isles  finally  disappeared,  as 
the  money  to  redeem  them  was  never  afterwards  forth- 
coming. The  transference  of  authority  was  of  course 
nominally  only  civil,  and  the  Orkneys  with  their  bishop 
still  remained  in  the  Nidaros  province;  but  practically 
from  this  time  onwards  they  were  detached  from  their 
ancient  ecclesiastical  allegiance.  ^ 

Archbishop  Olaf  died  in  1474,  and  his  successor  was 
Gaute  Ivarss0n.  Olaf  had  been  for  fifteen  years  recog- 
nized as  archbishop,  but  was,  twenty- four  years  before  his 
death,  elected  by  the  chapter. 

In  1474  Kristian  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Eome,  and 
while  there  obtained  the  consent  of  the  pope  to  the 
founding  of  a  university  at  Copenhagen,  but  it  was  not 
finally  established  until  1479.  The  new  university 
diverted  the  attendance  of  the  Norwegian  and  Danish 
clergy  from  Eostock  to  Copenhagen,  and  was  a  great 
benefit  to  the  cause  of  higher  education  in  Norway  and 
Denmark.  Kristian  I.  died  at  Copenhagen  in  May,  1481, 
and  was  buried  in  Eoskilde. 

The  death  of  Kristian  I.  was  followed  by  a  short  inter- 
regnum. His  son  Hans  had  been,  as  we  have  seen, 
accepted  by  the  Norwegian  bishops  and  chief  men  as  his 

*  A  few  years  later,  however,  we  find  the  Orkneys  forming  a  part 
of  the  province  of  St.  Andrews,  and  that  bishopric  is  mentioned  in  the 
bull  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  (raising  the  see  of  St.  Andrews  to  metropolitan 
rank)  as  one  of  the  suffragan  sees  in  the  new  province. 


288  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

father's  successor  at  the  meeting  in  Skara  in  1458,  but  in 
spite  of  this,  after  Kristian's  death  the  Norwegian  govern- 
ment was  carried  on  by  the  council,  with  the  archbishop 
at  its  head,  and  it  was  not  until  January,  1483,  at  a 
meeting  in  Halmstad,  that  Hans  was  formally  taken  as 
king  in  Norway  and  Denmark.  On  February  1st  the  new 
king  issued  an  important  manifesto,  which  was  known  as 
the  "  Halmstad  Kecess,"  and  which  was  intended  to  reassure 
his  Norwegian  subjects  and  to  remove  the  grievances  which 
were  complained  of.  In  this  document  Hans  promised, 
among  other  things,  to  support  the  Church  and  uphold  all 
its  privileges.  He  would  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of 
election,  or  force  foreigners  into  office  in  Norway,  and  the 
clergy  were  to  be  exempted  from  the  civil  courts  in  alt 
ecclesiastical  matters.  The  murderers  of  Bishop  Thorleif 
were  to  be  punished. 

These  promises  were  made  by  the  king  apparently  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  the  support  of  the  Norwegians, 
but  he  afterwards  violated  them  in  almost  every  particular, 
and  the  Church  in  Norway,  during  his  reign,  was  subjected 
to  many  indignities.  At  first,  however,  things  seemed  to 
go  well.  Hans  came  to  Norway,  and  in  July,  1483,  he  was 
crowned  at  Trondhjem'*  by  Archbishop  Gaute.  After  an 
absence  of  about  three  years,  during  which  there  was  a 
considerable  amount  of  discontent,  the  king  returned  to 
Norway,  and  after  a  meeting  with  the  bishops  and  chief 
men  at  Bergen  better  relations  were  again  established.  In 
1489  Hans  secured  the  recognition  of  his  son  Kristian, 
then  eight  years  of  age,  as  his  successor  to  the  Norwegian 
throne. 

There  were  at  this  time  in  Norway  two  distinct  parties. 
Many  of  the  people  and  clergy  were  hostile  to  the  Danish 
rule,  and  wished  for  an  opportunity  of  freeing  their  country 

*  The  old  name  of  Nidaros  was  abandoned  for  the  modern  Trondhjem 
a  little  before  this  time. 


HANS  AND  THE   DITMARSKERS.  289 

from  it ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  less  numerous, 
but  more  powerful,  body  of  the  Danish  noblemen  who  had 
received  property  in  Norway  from  the  king,  and  a  certain 
number  of  officials.  Many  of  the  Danes  had  intermarried 
with  Norwegians,  and  as  time  went  on  their  numbers 
increased  considerably,  and  eventually  this  led  to  the 
complete  subserviency  of  Norway  to  the  Danish  kings, 
and  brought  the  country  into  the  position  of  merely  a 
province  in  the  kingdom  of  Denmark.  These  two  rival 
parties  had,  as  their  leaders,  Alf  Knutss0n  and  Hartvig 
Krummedike.  The  former  was,  on  his  mother's  side,  a 
scion  of  a  very  old  Norwegian  family,  closely  connected 
with  the  ancient  royal  line ;  whilst  the  latter  was  a  well- 
known  Dane,  whom  we  have  met  with  before,  in  connection 
with  the  negotiations  which  ended  in  the  election  of 
Kristian  I.  to  the  throne  of  Norway. 

Although  Norway  had  accepted  Hans  in  1483,  it  was 
not  until  1497  that  Sweden  came  under  his  rule.  Both 
countries  were  quite  ready,  when  the  opportunity  offered, 
to  try  and  get  rid  of  their  Danish  monarch.  This  was 
presented  to  them  in  the  year  1500.  Kristian  I.  had 
received  from  the  Kaiser  Frederick  III.  the  country  of  the 
Ditmarsk,  in  Holstein — a  region  lying  between  the  Elbe 
and  the  Eider.  The  inhabitants  of  this  district  were  a 
hardy  race,  who  carried  on  a  ceaseless  warfare  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  North  Sea,  and  whose  coast  was 
defended  by  dykes,  as  in  Holland.  The  land  was  in  parts 
rich  and  fertile,  but  there  was  much  fen  country,  and  the 
narrow  roads  had  usually  a  deep  dyke  on  each  side.  The 
Ditmarskers  were  a  brave  and  independent  folk,  and  they 
did  not  approve  of  being  handed  over  to  a  neighbour  who, 
as  such,  was  likely  to  exercise  much  greater  authority  over 
them  than  the  kaiser.  Kristian  I.,  however,  did  prac- 
tically nothing  with  regard  to  the  country,  and  it  fell  to 
the  lot  of  Hans  to  try  to  make  his  power  felt. 

C.S.N.  U 


290  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

At  the  beginning  of  1500  the  king  and  his  brother, 
Duke  Frederick,  assembled  an  army  with  the  intention  of 
crushing  out  the  independence  of  these  hardy  peasants. 
The  forces  of  the  king  consisted  largely  of  mercenaries, 
and  his  total  strength  is  estimated  at  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
thousand  men.  Without  meeting  any  opposition  he  took 
possession  of  the  town  of  Meldorf,  and  then  in  an  evil 
hour  decided  to  complete  his  conquest  of  the  country,  by 
going  north  to  Heide.  The  distance  was  very  short 
(between  eight  and  ten  miles),  but  the  difficulties  of  the 
way  were  very  great.  The  road  lay  between  dykes,  and 
was  a  narrow  one,  and  rendered  heavy  by  a  thaw  which 
had  just  set  in.  On  February  17th  the  army  started  on 
the  ill-fated  march.  The  peasants  were  determined  to 
make  a  stand  for  their  liberty,  and  assembled  under  Wolf 
Isebrand.  With  difficulty  the  king's  army  made  its  way 
along  the  heavy  road  until  they  reached  Hemmingsted, 
where,  to  their  utter  surprise,  they  found  the  enemy 
awaiting  them,  who  at  once  opened  fire  upon  the  Danish 
forces.  The  cavalry  were  in  the  van,  and  were  thrown 
into  confusion,  and  the  horses  sank  in  the  mire.  The 
water  in  the  dykes  rose,  as  the  people  had  opened  the 
sluices,  and  the  Ditmarskers  at  once  attacked  their  foes. 
Twice  they  were  repulsed,  but  the  royal  forces  could  not 
leave  the  narrow  road  and  follow  their  agile  assailants. 
To  retreat  or  advance  was  impossible,  and  a  third  attack 
broke  all  attempt  at  resistance  ;  the  helpless  soldiers  were 
hewn  down  like  sheep,  and  those  in  the  rear  alone  were 
able  to  escape.  King  Hans  and  his  brother  managed  to 
make  their  way  out  of  the  scene  of  slaughter  with  a  mere 
fragment  of  their  powerful  force,  and  the  victors  (fortu- 
nately for  them)  did  not  attempt  to  follow  up  their  success. 

After  this  terrible  defeat  of  King  Hans  the  spirit  of 
rebellion,  which  had  long  been  smouldering  in  Norway 
and  Sweden,  soon  broke  into  a  flame.  The  chiefs  of  both 


DUKE   KRISTIAN   AND  BISHOP  KARL.  291 

parties  were  dead,  but  their  sons,  Knut  Alf  ss0n  and  Henrik 
Krummedike,  took  their  fathers'  places.  In  1501  Knut 
Alfss0n  gathered  men  in  Sweden,  and  attacked  and  captured 
Akershus  at  Oslo,  and  T0nsberg,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a 
prospect  of  breaking  the  Danish  yoke.  Henrik  Krumme- 
dike, however,  came  to  defend  the  cause  of  the  king,  and 
gained  some  advantage  over  Knut.  The  latter  was  now 
anxious  to  make  terms,  and  was  induced,  in  August,  1502, 
to  go  on  board  Henrik' s  ship  under  the  promise  of  a  safe 
conduct.  When  he  got  there  he  was  at  once  treacherously 
murdered  and  his  body  thrown  overboard.  All  his 
property  was  confiscated  to  the  Crown.  Thus,  deprived  of 
their  leader,  the  Norwegian  national  party  had  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  submit.  The  Swedes,  however,  still  continued 
the  struggle. 

The  spirit  of  rebellion  was  not  quite  extinguished  in 
central  Norway,  and  only  awaited  an  opportunity  to 
manifest  itself. 

In  1507  King  Hans  sent  his  son,  Duke  Kristian,  to 
Norway  as  governor.  He  was  a  young  man  of  ability, 
but  cruel  and  treacherous,  and  he  soon  had  an  opportunity 
of  displaying  these  qualities.  In  1508  the  people  of 
Hedemark  rose  in  rebellion  under  Herluf  Hufvudfat,  but 
Duke  Kristian  quickly  crushed  it,  and  took  the  leaders 
prisoners  and  had  them  put  to  death  at  Akershus. 
According  to  some  authorities  it  is  said  that  before  their 
death,  they  accused  Karl,  bishop  of  Hamar,  who  had 
only  been  three  years  bishop  at  the  time  of  the  rising,  of 
having  instigated  the  rebellion.  Whether  the  bishop  was 
guilty  of  the  charge  or  not,  Kristian  determined  to  punish 
him.  By  deceit  he  induced  Karl  to  come  to  him,^  and  at 

*  How  little  the  bishop  expected  such  treatment  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  before  he  left  his  palace,  he  told  his  people  he  would  return  in 
eight  days  bringing  back  the  duke  as  his  guest.  It  was  this  which 
probably  induced  the  bishop's  servants  to  open  the  palace  gates  at  once. 

u2 


292  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

once  threw  him  into  prison,  and  started  with  an  armed 
force  for  Hamar.  Pretending  that  he  and  the  bishop  were 
pursued  by  the  Swedes,  the  doors  of  the  bispegaard,  or 
palace,  were  thrown  open  to  him.  The  place  was  then 
sacked  by  the  duke  and  his  followers,  and  the  adjoining 
cathedral  plundered.  That  this  unparalleled  outrage, 
which,  by  its  attack  on  the  bishop,  entailed  immediate 
excommunication  on  the  duke,  did  not  at  once  raise  a 
storm  throughout  the  land  was  a  proof  of  the  weakness  of 
the  Church  and  the  power  of  the  king.  The  duke  left  the 
bishop  in  prison  without  bringing  him  to  trial.  Arch- 
bishop Gaute  does  not  seem  to  have  done  much  on  his 
suffragan's  behalf.  He  wrote,  indeed,  to  the  king,  and 
Kristian  was  called  upon  to  defend  himself  to  the  pope, 
which  he  did  with  many  false  statements.  The  pope 
appointed  two  bishops,  a  German  and  a  Dane,  to  investi- 
gate the  case,  passing  over  the  archbishop.  Nothing 
definite  seems  to  have  come  of  this,  and  the  unfortunate 
bishop  still  remained  a  prisoner.  His  despair  of  ever 
obtaining  justice,  led  him  to  attempt  to  escape,  and  in 
doing  so  he  broke  his  leg,  which  seems  to  have  hastened 
his  death,  for  when,  after  four  years'  imprisonment,  he  was 
released  in  1512,  he  died  almost  immediately  after  at  Oslo. 
Two  years  before  this  Archbishop  Gaute  Ivarss0n  died, 
having  filled  the  see  of  Mdaros  for  thirty-four  years, 
a  longer  period  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He 
seems  to  have  been  in  ill-health  and  extreme  old  age  at 
the  time  of  Bishop  Karl's  imprisonment,  or  he  would 
probably  have  taken  some  more  energetic  steps  to  obtain 
justice  for  him.  The  events  which  followed  the  death  of 
Gaute  showed  the  way  in  which  King  Hans  observed  the 
conditions  of  the  Halmstad  Eecess.  The  chapter  imme- 
diately elected  John  Krabbe  as  Gaute' s  successor,  and  he 
at  once  started  for  Eome  to  receive,  as  he  expected, 
consecration. 


ERIK  VALKENDORF,  ARCHBISHOP.  293 

King  Hans  and  Duke  Kristian  between  them  had  anti- 
cipated the  death  of  the  old  archbishop,  and  were  determined, 
in  spite  of  the  solemn  promise  to  the  contrary,  to  place  a 
Dane  at  the  head  of  the  Norwegian  Church.  They  selected 
as  their  candidate  Erik  Yalkendorf,  a  canon  of  Eoskilde 
and  chancellor  and  secretary  to  Duke  Kristian,  and  they 
seem  to  have  arranged  matters  with  the  pope  (Julius  II.), 
who  was  willing  to  have  the  royal  nominee.  Krabbe, 
therefore,  found  he  was  not  to  be  Graute's  successor,  and 
the  pope,  in  August,  1510,  overruling  the  choice  of  the 
Mdaros  chapter,  nominated,  per  provisionem,  Erik  Valken- 
dorf  as  archbishop,  and  he  was  forthwith  consecrated. 

We  have  seen  that  these  events  occurred  during 
the  time  the  unfortunate  bishop  of  Hamar  was  still  in 
prison.  We  have  no  certain  knowledge  if  the  new  arch- 
bishop interfered  on  his  behalf,  but  it  was  decided  that 
on  his  release,  Karl  was  to  be  sent  to  Erik  in  Trondhjem, 
but  death,  at  Oslo,  ended  his  troubles  before  this  could  be 
carried  out. 

The  arrest,  and  imprisonment  of  a  bishop  without  trial 
was,  however,  not  a  matter  which  could  altogether  be 
passed  over  without  notice,  even  by  a  pope  friendly  to 
the  duke  and  his  father.  By  Kristian's  act  he  was  in  law 
ipso  facto  excommunicated,  and  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  receive  absolution.  The  papal  nuncio  Grave  was 
ordered  to  remove  the  Church's  ban  at  the  end  of  1512, 
and  on  Pope  Leo  X.'s  accession  (1513)  he  issued  a  bull  to 
the  archbishop  and  the  bishop  of  Eoskilde  directing  them 
to  convey  the  papal  absolution,  if  the  duke  would  clear 
himself  by  oath  of  having  caused  the  bishop's  death. 
This  Kristian  did  to  their  satisfaction. 

King  Hans,  who  had  practically  given  over  Norway  to 
his  son,  died,  after  a  fall  from  his  horse  on  his  way  to 
Aalborg,  in  February,  1513,  after  a  reign  of  thirty  years. 
We  have  seen  the  way  in  which  he  treated  the  Church  in 


294  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

Norway,  notwithstanding  the  promises  which  he  made  at 
the  commencement  of  his  reign.  It  would  perhaps  be 
unfair  to  judge  him  too  hardly  in  the  matter  of  the 
barbarous  treatment  of  Bishop  Karl,  but  there  can  be  no 
excuse  for  the  deliberate  policy  which  he  sanctioned  of 
filling  all  the  highest  offices  in  the  Church  with  Danes 
instead  of  Norwegians,  when  he  had  distinctly  pledged  his 
royal  word  not  to  do  so.  More  and  more  feeble  grew  the 
Church  under  its  foreign  rulers,  darker  and  darker  its 
prospects,  and  the  end  was  not  far  off. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

KRISTIAN    II.    AND    FREDERICK    I.— THE    BEGINNING 
OF    THE    END. 

Kristian's  promises  to  the  Church — Archbishop  Erik's  zeal — Dy  veke  and 
her  Mother — Kristian's  marriage — Erik  leaves  Norway — His  death 
in  Rome — Lutheranism  in  Denmark — War  with  Sweden — The 
"Bloodbath  of  Stockholm "— Kristian  deposed,  1523— Olaf  Engel- 
brektss0n,  the  last  Archbishop,  elected — His  Character — Position 
of  Affairs  in  Norway — Henrikss0n  of  0steraat — Vincent  Lunge — 
Norwegian  Council  accepts  Frederick  I.— His  Manifesto  from 
Ribe — Attacks  on  Church  Property — Norway  uninfluenced  by  the 
Reformation — The  Bishops  of  Norway — Affairs  of  Denmark — 
Herredags  at  Odense,  1526-1527 — First  Lutheran  preacher  in 
Bergen — Destruction  of  Churches  in  Bergen — Lunge  and  Eske 
Bilde— Bishop  Olaf  Thorkildss0n  Consents  to  the  Destruction  of 
his  Cathedral — Archbishop  Olaf  powerless — The  Norwegian 
Church  turns  to  Kristian  II. — He  Abjures  Lutheranism — Comes 
to  Norway — Frederick  Relieves  Oslo — Surrender  of  Kristian  under 
promise  of  Safe  Conduct — His  long  Imprisonment  and  Death — 
The  Rebellion  Crushed — Death  of  Frederick. 

As  we  are  now  rapidly  approaching  trie  time  when  the 
great  blow  fell  upon  Norway,  which  severed  its  connection 
with  the  Catholic  Church  of  Western  Europe,  it  is  very 
necessary  that  we  should  note  carefully  the  historical 
events  which  led  up  to  this.  We  have  seen  the  way  in 
which  the  Danish  kings  Kristian  I.  and  Hans  had  treated 
Norway,  both  ecclesiastically  and  civilly,  and  how  their 
policy  was  to  bring  it  into  entire  subserviency  to  Denmark. 
The  few  feeble  attempts  which  the  Norwegian  people 
made  to  regain  something  of  their  old  independence,  show 
us  how  almost  entirely,  the  spirit  of  the  country  had  died 
out — or  perhaps  it  would  be  fairer  to  say,  how  destitute  the 


296  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

land  was  then  of  a  single  capable  leader,  who  would  unite 
the  people,  and  lead  them  to  victory  and  independence 
once  more. 

The  story  of  the  disestablishment  of  the  ancient  Nor- 
wegian Church,  and  the  erection  in  its  place  of  the 
Lutheran  community,  is  one  which  presents  few,  if  any, 
redeeming  features.  Everywhere  we  note  the  rapacity  of 
the  king  and  his  courtiers,  who  destroyed  in  a  wholesale 
manner  churches  and  monasteries,  and  almost  for  the  time 
swept  all  religion  from  the  land  ;  and  on  the  other  side  we 
find,  with  few  exceptions,  that  the  bishops  and  clergy 
made  but  little  resistance,  and  seem  to  have  lost  every 
chance  which  offered  to  them,  of  taking  decisive  action  at 
a  critical  moment,  when  the  whole  situation  might  have 
been  changed. 

Kristian  II.  (like  his  father  before  him)  had  been 
accepted  as  king  when  he  was  only  eight  years  old,  during 
Hans' s  lifetime,  and  at  that  monarch's  death  there  was  no 
opposition  to  his  claim  in  either  Denmark  or  Norway. 

Hans  died  in  February,  and  in  the  July  following 
Kristian  issued  the  customary  manifesto,  which  contained 
almost  exactly  the  same  promises  to  the  Church  and  State 
as  that  of  the  Halmstad  Eecess.  It  did  not,  apparently, 
seem  at  all  incongruous,  that  the  man  who  had  imprisoned, 
and  kept  without  trial  for  four  years,  a  bishop  of  the 
Norwegian  Church,  should  promise  to  respect  all  its  rights 
and  privileges,  and  that  none  of  the  high  offices  should  be 
filled  with  others  than  native  Norwegians,  when  he  had 
been  the  means  a  short  time  before,  of  displacing  the 
canonically  elected  archbishop,  in  order  to  install  a  Danish 
ecclesiastic  in  the  primacy. 

The  year  following  he  was  crowned  king  of  Norway  at 
Oslo,  in  the  month  of  July. 

The  new  archbishop,  Erik  Valkendorf,  was  a  man  who 
had  a  very  high  sense  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  set 


GARDE  IN  GREENLAND.  297 

himself  to  look  after  the  Church  and  province  committed  to 
his  care.  He  had  been  chancellor  and  secretary  to  the 
king,  during  the  time  he  had  ruled  Norway  in  his  father's 
name,  and  Kristian,  in  forcing  him  on  the  Nidaros  chapter 
by  the  exercise  of  the  papal  power,  expected  to  find  in 
him  a  willing  agent  for  all  his  schemes  with  respect  to  the 
Norwegian  Church.  But  Kristian  found,  as  other  kings 
before  him  had  found,  that  a  subservient  chancellor  and 
secretary,  could  become  a  very  different  kind  of  man 
when  placed  at  the  head  of  a  national  Church,  whose 
interests  might  often  come  into  collision  with  the  head  of 
the  State. 

At  first,  however,  all  went  smoothly.  Archbishop  Erik 
devoted  himself  to  the  care  of  his  diocese  and  province. 
Among  other  plans,  he  was  very  anxious  to  revive  the 
connection  with  the  distant  diocese  of  Garde,  in  Greenland, 
which  had  almost  ceased  to  exist.  The  Norse  colony  there 
had  suffered  a  great  deal  from  the  attacks  of  the  Eskimo, 
and  the  trade,  which  had  at  one  time  been  fairly  brisk 
between  Iceland  and  Greenland,  and  through  the  former 
country  with  Norway,  had  practically  come  to  an  end. 
Bishops  for  the  see  of  Garde  had  been  consecrated,  it  is 
true,  and  were  recognized  as  suffragans  of  the  archbishop 
of  Nidaros,  but  few,  if  any  of  them,  ever  went  to  their 
distant  diocese.  They  acted  as  vicars  for  bishops,  like 
Marcellus,  who  was  bishop  of  Skaalholt,  but  never  went 
to  Iceland,  and  religion  in  Greenland  had  come  to  a  very 
low  ebb  indeed. 

We  gain  a  very  extraordinary  picture  of  the  state  of  the 
diocese  of  Garde  from  a  bull  issued  by  Pope  Alexander 
VI.  in  1492,  in  which  he  says  : 

"  We  understand  the  church  of  Garde  is  situated  at  the 
end  of  the  world,  in  the  country  of  Greenland,  in  which 
the  people  there  living,  for  lack  of  bread,  wine,  and  oil, 
are  accustomed  to  make  use  of  dried  fish  and  milk,  and  on 


298  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

account  of  the  very  rare  voyages  to  the  said  land,  caused 
by  the  intense  freezing  of  the  waters,  so  that  no  ship  is 
believed  to  have  made  the  voyage  thither  for  eighty  years ; 
and  if  any  such  voyage  were  to  be  made  it  is  believed  it 
could  only  be  done  in  the  month  of  August,  when  the  ice 
is  thawed.  And  for  these  same  reasons  the  church  there, 
is  said  to  have  had  for  these  eighty  years,  no  bishop  or 
priest  over  it  personally  residing  there.  On  account  of 
which  absence  of  Catholic  clergy  it  has  resulted  that 
maftywho  were  once  Catholics,  and  had  received  baptism, 
have  left  the  faith — shame  be  it  said  !  Also  that  the 
inhabitants  of  that  land  have  nothing  left  in  memory 
of  the  Christian  religion,  but  a  corporal  which  is  ex- 
hibited once  a  year,  upon  which,  a  hundred  years  ago, 
the  Body  of  Christ  was  consecrated  by  the  last  priest 
remaining  there."  * 

Archbishop  Erik  laid  down  plans  for  re-opening  the 
communication  with  this  distant  part  of  his  province,  and 
made  careful  enquiries  from  all  available  sources  as  to  the 
voyage  thither,  &e.,  and  there  seemed  a  reasonable  prospect 
of  something  being  done  for  Greenland.  King  Kristian, 
however,  declined  to  fall  in  with  the  archbishop's  plans, 
and  the  attempt  failed.  In  1519  or  1520  the  last  bishop 
of  Garde,  Yincentius  Kampe,  was  consecrated  for  a  diocese 
which,  from  his  predecessor's  neglect,  might  well  be  de- 
scribed as  in  partibus  inftdelium. 

Kristian  II.  was  unmarried  when  he  ascended  the 
throne,  and  in  1515  he  formed  an  alliance  which  tended 
to  considerably  enhance  his  position  among  the  princes 
of  Europe;  but  before  we  come  to  it  it  is  necessary 
to  advert  to  an  incident  in  his  earlier  life  which  had, 

*  "  The  Norse  Colonization  in  America,  by  the  light  of  the  Vatican 
Finds,"  by  Marie  A.  Shipley.  Lucerne,  H.  Kneller,  1899.  Many 
interesting  details  about  Greenland  will  be  found  in  Dr.  Luka  Jelic's 
L' Evangelisation  de  TAmerique  avant  Christophe  Colomb. 


DYVEKE.  299 

indirectly,  a  most  important  influence  on  his  subsequent 
history. 

During  Kristian's  stay  in  Norway  (in  1507),  before  he 
became  king,  he  was  present  at  a  gathering  at  Bergen, 
where  he  met  a  very  beautiful  Dutch  girl  named  Dyveke. 
The  duke,  as  he  then  was,  became  enamoured  of  the  fair 
foreigner,  and  took  her  with  him  to  Oslo,  along  with  her 
mother,  Sigbrit,  a  very  bad  but  clever  and  ambitious  old 
woman,  who  speedily  acquired  a  great  influence  over 
Kristian,  which  she  used  to  the  uttermost,  and  which 
eventually  turned  out  to  be  most  disastrous  to  him. 

In  1515  Kristian  arranged  for  his  marriage  with 
Isabella,  daughter  of  Philip  of  Burgundy  and  sister  of  Charles 
of  Burgundy,  afterwards  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  The 
following  year  the  king  sent  an  embassy,  of  which  Arch- 
bisliop  Erik  was  the  head,  to  fetch  his  bride  from  the 
Netherlands.  Isabella  arrived  in  Copenhagen  in  August, 
and  was  married  and  crowned  there.  It  appears  that 
Charles,  the  new  queen's  brother,  had  heard  rumours  of 
the  king's  connection  with  Dyveke,  and  wrote  to  Kristian 
on  the  subject.  He  also  spoke  plainly  to  the  archbishop, 
before  his  sister's  wedding,  as  to  the  importance  of  ending 
the  affair,  but,  being  then  only  a  very  young  man,  his 
remonstrances  were  unheeded.  The  archbishop  both  wrote 
and  spoke  to  the  king  on  the  subject,  and  by  this,  not 
merely  incurred  the  displeasure  of  Kristian,  but  drew 
down  upon  himself  the  anger  of  Sigbrit,  Dyveke's  mother, 
who  vowed  vengeance  on  him,  and  who,  as  we  shall  see, 
did  not  forget  her  vow.  Kristian  appears  to  have  treated 
his  young  wife  with  great  indifference,  which  she  seems  to 
have  felt  very  keenly.  The  Emperor  Maximilian,  hearing 
of  this,  sent  a  special  ambassador,  Sigismund  Herberstein, 
to  remonstrate  with  Kristian,  and  try  and  induce  him  to 
break  off  all  communication  with  Dyveke  and  her  mother; 
but  even  this  did  not  make  any  change  in  the  state  of 


300  CHURCH   AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

affairs.    Indeed,  it  seems  as  if  it  only  confirmed  him  in  his 
infatuation  for  them  both. 

Matters  continued  in  the  same  way  for  some  time  longer, 
and  Dyveke  and  her  mother  lived  close  to  the  royal  palace 
in  Copenhagen.  In  1517,  probably  in  June,  Dyveke  died 
suddenly,  not  without  suspicion  of  having  been  poisoned 
in  revenge  for  her  interference  in  some  court  intrigues. 
The  death  of  his  mistress,  however,  did  not  free  Kristian 
from  the  malign  influence  of  her  mother,  the  clever  and 
unscrupulous  Sigbrit ;  indeed,  it  only  seems  to  have  riveted 
the  chains  which  bound  him  to  this  remarkable  woman. 
She  was  his  chief  adviser  in  matters  both  of  Church  and 
State,  and  contrived  to  fill  all  the  offices  which  fell  vacant 
in  Norway,  with  those  upon  whom  she  could  rely  on  being 
faithful  to  her,  and  who  would  harass  and  thwart  the 
archbishop  as  much  as  possible.  One  of  these  was  Hans 
Mule,  who,  though  a  priest,  was  nominated  as  the  adminis- 
trator of  Akershus,  a  purely  civil  .office.  In  this  post 
Hans  deliberately  set  himself  to  oust  Bishop  Andreas  Mus, 
of  Oslo,  from  his  see,  and  the  unfortunate  man  was  perse- 
cuted in  every  possible  way  by  Mule  and  his  adherents. 
The  archbishop  did  his  best  to  protect  him,  and  wrote  to 
the  king  in  1519  to  complain  of  Mule's  actions.  In  1520 
there  seems  to  have  been  an  open  rupture  between  Erik 
and  Mule,  but  Kristian  was  at  this  time  engaged  on  his 
expedition  to  Sweden. 

The  archbishop  now  determined  himself  to  go  to  Denmark 
and  put  his  case  before  the  king.  In  May,  1521,  he  made 
arrangements  in  Trondhjem  for  a  prolonged  absence,  and  set 
sail ;  but  by  stress  of  weather  he  was  driven  out  of  his  course, 
and  found  himself  at  the  end  of  June,  in  Amsterdam,  instead 
of  Copenhagen.  Curiously  enough  King  Kristian  came  to 
the  same  place  at  that  very  time,  as  he  was  engaged  in 
some  negotiations  with  his  brother-in-law,  Charles  V.  He 
tried  to  have  the  archbishop  arrested,  but  the  authorities 


DEATH  OF  ARCHBISHOP  ERIK.  301 

refused,  and,  after  an  interview  with  the  king,  Erik  went  to 
Utrecht,  where  he  remained  until  November,  when  he 
started  for  Eome,  which,  however,  he  did  not  reach  until 
February,  1522.  Meanwhile  he  had  written  a  long  defence 
of  himself  to  the  council  in  Denmark,  in  which  he  charged 
Sigbrit  with  influencing  the  king  against  him  in  every 
way.  He  came  to  Eome  just  at  the  time  of  the  death  of 
Leo  X.  His  successor  was  Adrian  VI.,  with  whom  the 
archbishop  was  personally  acquainted,  and  from  whom  he 
might  well  have  expected  to  obtain  justice.  Unfortunately, 
however,  Adrian  was  delayed  in  Spain  for  some  months 
after  his  election,  and  did  not  arrive  at  Eome  until  the  end 
of  August,  whilst  the  unfortunate  archbishop,  worn  out  with 
anxiety  and  the  fatigues  of  his  journey,  died  in  November, 
1522.  Erik  Valkendorf,  although  a  Dane,  had  proved 
himself  a  true  friend  to  the  Norwegian  Church.*  He  had 
set  himself  firmly  on  the  side  of  morality  and  justice,  and, 
like  many  another  before  him,  found  the  reward  to  be  exile 
from  his  country.  The  king's  treatment  of  one  who  had  served 
him  faithfully,  only  helps  to  show  us  what  a  treacherous 
and  worthless  man  he  was.  When  the  old  archbishop,  sick 
at  heart,  found  himself  on  his  death -bed  in  Eome,  without 
having  had  his  cause  vindicated,  he  might  well  have  used 
(but  with  far  greater  truth)  the  bitter  words  of  Pope 
Gregory  VIL,  "  I  have  loved  righteousness  and  hated 
iniquity,  therefore  I  die  in  exile. " 

During  the  time  the  archbishop  was  seeking  to  have  his 
case  considered,  the  continued  persecution  against  Andreas 
Mus,  the  bishop  of  Oslo,  had  produced  the  desired  result  of 
forcing  him,  in  1521,  to  resign  his  see,  nominally  of  his 
own  free  will.  He,  however,  made  a  good  bargain,  and 

*  In  Archbishop  Erik's  time,  printing  was  first  used  for  the  Church 
service  books  in  Norway.  He  had  the  missal  printed  in  Copen- 
hagen and  the  "  Breviarium  Nidrosiense  "  printed  in  Paris,  both  in 
1519. 


302  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

was  allowed  to  retain  a  considerable  amount  of  the  income. 
The  chapter  now  proceeded  to  elect  Hans  Mule,  but  he  was 
not  then  consecrated,  and  continued  to  hold  his  office  under 
the  Crown. 

"We  must  now  retrace  our  steps  a  little  and  follow  the 
course  of  events  in  Denmark. 

The  Swedes  had  been  more  successful  than  the  Norwe- 
gians (after  the  defeat  of  Hans  in  1500)  in  throwing  off  the 
Danish  yoke,  and  maintained  their  independence  under 
Sten  Sture,  and  his  son  of  the  same  name.  Kristian,  how- 
ever, was  watching  his  opportunity  to  recover  what  had 
been  lost. 

In  1517  the  preaching  of  Luther  had,  as  we  know, 
aroused  the  attention  of  Europe,  and  Denmark,  from  its 
situation,  was  naturally  soon  affected  by  it.  The  sale  of 
papal  indulgences  went  on  in  Denmark  and  Norway,  as 
well  as  in  other  countries,  and  in  1517  the  papal  legate, 
John  Arcemboldus,  came  to  Denmark^  to  sell  them,  and 
also  to  act  as  a  mediator  between  Kristian  and  Sten  Sture. 
On  his  arrival  he  made  an  arrangement  with  the  king,  by 
paying  him  the  sum  of  1,100  gulden,  for  the  privilege  of 
selling  indulgences  in  his  dominions,  which  he  did  largely 
in  Denmark  and  Norway  through  his  various  agents.  After 
spending  a  profitable  and  pleasant  time  in  the  former 
country  he,  in  1518,  proceeded  to  Sweden,  having  gained 
Kristian7 s  confidence  and  led  him  to  suppose  that  he  was 
entirely  on  his  side.  When,  however,  he  came  there,  Sten 
Sture  found  it  easy  to  bring  him  over  completely  to  his 
views.  Information  of  Arcemboldus' s  betrayal  of  his  cause 
reached  Kristian  in  1519,  and  the  king  was  furious  and 
tried  to  seize  him,  but  he  managed  to  escape  to  Liibeck 
with  a  great  deal  of  the  money  he  had  taken.  Kristian, 


*  Full  particulars  as  to  the  mission  of  Arcemboldus  in  Denmark  and 
Sweden  will  be  found  in  Paludan-Miiller's  "  De  f0rste  Konger  af  den 
Oldenborgske  Slaegt." 


I 


THE  BLOODBATH   OF  STOCKHOLM.  308 

however,  was  able  to  secure  some  of  it  in  Norway  *  and 
other  places. 

Enraged  at  the  duplicity  of  the  papal  envoy,  Kristian 
now  decided  to  be  revenged,  by  patronizing  Luther.  In 
1520  he  applied  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  who  sent  him  a 
priest  named  Martin  Eeinhard,  who  arrived  that  year  in 
Copenhagen.  A  Carmelite  monk,  Paul  Elia3ss0n,  seems  to 
have  been  the  person  who  suggested  this  course  to  the 
king,  and  when  Eeinhard  came,  he  translated  his  discourses, 
as  the  former  could  not  speak  Danish.  The  efforts  of 
Eeinhard  seem  to  have  had  no  effect,  and  Elisess0n,  finding 
Luther  went  too  far  for  him,  gave  up  his  emissary.  It  was 
about  this  time,  and  from  no  religious  motives,  that  Kristian 
suppressed  the  nunnery  of  Gims0,  at  Skien,  in  Norway. 

In  1520  Kristian  resolved  to  attack  Sten  Sture  and, 
if  possible,  bring  back  Sweden  to  the  Danish  crown.  In 
this  he  was  successful.  The  king's  army  crossed  into 
Sweden,  and  Sten  Sture,  defeated  and  mortally  wounded 
at  the  battle  fought  on  the  ice  at  Bogesund,  died  very  soon 
after.  Now  Sweden  lay  at  the  mercy  of  Kristian,  though 
it  was  some  months  before  he  completed  the  conquest  of 
the  country. 

On  November  4th,  1520,  Kristian  was  crowned  at  Stock- 
holm, and  there  he  assembled  many  of  the  principal  nobility 
of  Sweden,  who,  unsuspicious  of  any  treachery,  responded 
to  the  king's  invitation.  The  coronation  feast,  however, 
was  marked  by  a  most  horrible  atrocity.  The  enemies  of 
Sten  Sture,  headed  by  the  Archbishop  Gustav  Trolle, 
determined  to  be  revenged  on  their  former  antagonists. 
On  the  night  of  November  7th  a  number  of  the  guests 
were  suddenly  arrested,  and  the  next  day  taken  to  the 

*  The  amount  of  money  which  Arcemboldus  managed  to  get  together 
by  his  sale  of  indulgences  must  have  been  considerable,  as  we  learn 
that  in  Bergen  alone,  the  king's  man,  J0rgen  Hanss0n,  contrived  to  seize 
a  sum  of  no  less  than  between  3,000  and  4,000  marks. 


304  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

market  place  and  there  put  to  death  one  after  another. 
No  less  than  eighty  persons  are  said  to  have  been  thus 
murdered,  including  the  Bishops  Matthias  of  Strengnaes 
and  Vincent  of  Skara  and  many  of  the  chief  men  in 
Sweden.  This  barbarous  slaughter  is  known  in  history  as 
the  "  Bloodbath  of  Stockholm,"  and  the  storm  of  indigna- 
tion which  it  aroused  was  ultimately  the  cause  of  the 
downfall  of  Kristian. 

The  strength  of  the  king's  forces,  for  the  present,  held 
the  Swedes  in  check;  but  the  next  year  they  rose  in 
rebellion  under  the  leadership  of  the  famous  Gustav 
Yasa,  they  drove  out  the  Danes,  and  finally  chose  him  as 
their  king. 

Kristian,  during  the  progress  of  the  struggle,  demanded 
fresh  supplies  from  Denmark.  But  now  the  end  of  his 
rule  over  that  country  was  at  hand.  The  nobles  of  Den- 
mark were  leagued  against  him,  and  offered  the  crown  to 
his  uncle,  Duke  Frederick  of  Slesvig.  It  is  only  fair  to 
Kristian,  to  say  that  in  spite  of  his  many  crimes,  he  was 
very  popular  with  the  b0nder  and  the  burgers  of  Den- 
mark, whom  he  had  always  protected  from  the  rapacity  of 
the  nobles.  But  in  this  crisis  of  his  fate  no  one  seems 
to  have  made  any  movement  in  his  favour,  and  Kristian 
himself  appears  to  have  made  no  effort,  though  he  had  a 
certain  number  of  troops  at  his  disposal,  to  retrieve  his 
fortunes.  He  decided  to  seek  safety  in  flight,  and  in 
April,  1523,  he  left  Copenhagen  for  the  Netherlands, 
taking  with  him  his  wife  and  family,  and,  unfortunately, 
his  evil  genius  Sigbrit,  whose  ascendency  over  him  had 
not  in  the  least  diminished,  and  was  popularly  ascribed  to 
witchcraft. 

The  tidings  of  the  death  of  Archbishop  Erik  Valkendorf 
in  Eome,  do  not  seem  to  have  reached  the  chapter  at 
Trondhjem  until  the  30th  of  May,  nearly  six  months 
after  his  decease ;  but  as  soon  as  it  became  known  to  them 


OLAF  ENGELBREKTSS0N,  ARCHBISHOP.  305 

they  decided  to  lose  no  time  in  exercising  their  rights, 
and  a  couple  of  days  after,  chose  their  dean,  Olaf  Engel- 
brektss0n,  as  Erik's  successor.  The  last  archbishop  of 
Nidaros  was  a  Norwegian  of  an  old  noble  family  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Stavanger.  He  had  studied  at  Eostock, 
and  was  a  man  of  some  learning,  and  of  a  very  considerable 
amount  of  worldly  wisdom,  which  was  manifested  by  his 
desire  to  keep  himself  right  with  whatever  party  was 
uppermost  in  the  State  at  the  time.  He  was  called  upon 
to  rule  the  Church  at  the  most  critical  period  of  all  its 
history,  and  unfortunately  he  was  not  the  man  for  such  a 
post  at  such  a  time.  Had  he  been  a  strong  archbishop,  and 
one  who  knew  how  to  act  promptly  in  an  emergency,  the 
history  of  the  Church  in  Norway  might  have  been  different, 
as  will  be  seen  later  on.  Immediately  on  his  election  he 
started  for  Eome,  but  instead  of  going  via  Copenhagen, 
where  Frederick  was  now  in  power,  he  went  to  the 
Netherlands,  and  at  Mechlines  met  the  exiled  Kristian  II. , 
who  was  still  (legally)  sovereign  of  Norway,  and  swore 
allegiance  to  him.  After  this  he  proceeded  on  his  way  to 
Eome,  where  he  was  consecrated  at  the  end  of  1523.  On 
his  way  back  to  Norway  he  travelled  by  Germany  and 
Denmark,  and  visited  King  Frederick  I.  at  Flensborg  in 
response  to  his  invitation.  There  seems  no  doubt  that,  to 
make  himself  quite  safe  with  whichever  king  might  reign, 
the  new  archbishop  did  homage  there  to  Frederick,  a  trait 
in  his  character  which  does  not  exhibit  him  in  a  very 
pleasing  light.  He  reached  Trondhjem  in  May. 

Norway  was  placed  in  a  rather  peculiar  position  by  the 
flight  of  Kristian  II.,  who,  though  he  had  abandoned  his 
throne,  was  still  de  jure  king  of  Norway,  until  repudiated 
by  the  council,  the  Norwegians  being  under  no  binding 
obligation  to  accept  Frederick  (whom  the  Danes  had 
proclaimed)  as  his  successor.  Another  difficulty  was 
that  the  head  of  the  council,  and  the  chief  director  of 

C.S.N.  X 


806  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

affairs,  in  the  case  of  a  vacancy  of  the  throne,  was  the 
archbishop,  and  at   the    time  when  Kristian  fled  the  see 
was  vacant.      The  two  chief  men  in  Norway  were  now 
Nils  Henri  kss0n  of   0steraat  (a  spot  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Trondhjem  Fjord),  who  was  a  man  of  great  wealth 
and  power,  especially  in  the  north,  and  Olaf  Galde,  who 
possessed  an  equal  influence  in  the  Oplands  and  the  south. 
Henrikss0n's  wife  was  Fru  Ingerd  Ottesdatter,  a  woman 
who  played  an  important  part  in  subsequent  events.     By 
her  Henrikss0n  had  no  sons,  but  five  daughters,  all  of 
whom  were  married  to  Danish  noblemen,  who  occupied,  as 
we  shall  see,  most  important  positions  in  Norway.     When 
Kristian  fled,  the  council   met  and  decided,  during  the 
vacancy  in  the  see  of  Nidaros,  to  divide  the  government  of 
the  country  between  Henrikss0n  and  Galde,  the  former 
taking  the  north  and  west,  and  the  latter,  the  south  and 
east.     There  was,  however,  another  powerful  man  in  the 
country  who  represented  the  Danish  interests,  and  whom 
we  have  met  with  before — namely,  Henrik  Krummedike, 
the  treacherous  murderer  of  Knut  Alfss0n,  the  head  of 
the  Norwegian  party,  in  1502.     He  had  been  a  strong 
supporter  of  Kristian  II.,  but  seeing  his  cause  was  hopeless, 
he  at  once  made  overtures  to  Frederick,  and  became  the 
champion  of  his  cause  in  Norway. 

We  now  come  to  another  man  who  exercised  no  small 
or  unimportant  influence  on  the  history  of  this  critical 
period — namely,  Vincent  Lunge.  He  was  a  Dane  of  noble 
family,  and  a  man  of  great  learning;  he  had  been  pro- 
fessor of  law  in  the  University  of  Copenhagen,  and  in 
1521  was  its  rector.  The  studious  atmosphere  of  a  univer- 
sity life,  however,  did  not  meet  with  his  wishes,  and  he 
abandoned  it  for  the  more  exciting  and  dangerous  paths 
of  political  life.  In  1523  he  came  to  Bergen  to  support 
the  interests  of  Frederick,  having  first  been  to  the  north, 
where  he  married  Margaret,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Nils 


VINCENT   LUNGE.  307 

Henrikss0n.  In  November  of  this  year  Henrikss0n  (to 
whom  it  was  intended  to  give  over  the  command  of  the 
Bergenhus,  the  fortress  and  royal  castle  at  Bergen),  was 
dying,  and  on  his  death  the  bishops  of  Bergen  and 
Stavanger  decided  that  Vincent  Lunge  was  the  best  man 
to  whom  to  commit  the  care  of  the  fortress,  as  after  his 
marriage,  he  seemed  to  have  identified  himself  with  the 
Norwegian  interests.  Thus  Lunge  became  one  of  the 
principal  men  in  Norway,  and  a  member  of  the  council. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  the  new  archbishop, 
Olaf  Engelbrektss0n,  returned  from  Eome  in  May,  1524.  No 
time  was  now  lost  in  making  arrangements  for  a  successor 
to  Kristian  II.  upon  the  throne.  The  council  was  called, 
and  met  in  Bergen  in  August,  with  the  archbishop  at  its 
head.  Their  first  act  was  to  renounce  their  allegiance 
to  Kristian,  and,  the  throne  becoming  vacant,  they  had 
to  choose  another  king.  Frederick  was  apparently  the 
only  candidate,  but  the  council  was  not  by  any  meaos 
prepared  to  elect  him  unconditionally.  Yincent  Lunge, 
who  was  naturally  a  supporter  of  his,  was,  however,  quite 
as  decided  as  the  others  in  his  determination  to  preserve, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  entire  independence  of  Norway  as  to 
internal  affairs,  while  accepting  the  Danish  monarch  as 
king.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy  the  council  decided 
to  draw  up  a  manifesto,  which  was  to  be  submitted  to 
Frederick,  and  if  he  agreed  to  its  terms,  they  were  willing 
to  tender  him  their  allegiance.  At  the  same  time  a  letter 
was  written  denouncing  Henrik  Krummedike  as  an  enemy 
of  Norway. 

The  manifesto  of  the  council  was  at  once  dispatched  to 
Frederick,  in  charge  of  Yincent  Lunge,  who  met  the  king 
at  Kibe,  in  Denmark.  At  that  place,  in  November,  1524, 
Frederick  I.  accepted  the  proposed  terms  and  affixed  his 
seal  to  them. 

This   manifesto   followed   mainly   the   lines   of  similar 


308  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

documents  which  had  been  issued  by  the  previous  Danish 
kings  to  Norway,  and  bound  the  king  to  the  observance 
of  terms  which  his  predecessors  had  accepted  but  never 
kept.  But  in  this  new  manifesto  fresh  conditions  were 
inserted,  in  view  of  the  advance  of  Lutheranism,  which  it 
is  very  necessary  for  us  to  note. 

After  the  usual  promise  to  protect  the  Norwegian  Church 
and  to  give  freedom  of  election,  &c.,  Frederick  solemnly 
vowed  that  he  would  never  permit  heretics,  Lutherans 
or  others,  to  preach  contrary  to  the  faith  of  the  holy 
Church  ;  and  wherever  such  heretics  were  found  in  Norway, 
he  would  punish  them  with  loss  of  life  and  goods.  In 
addition  to  this  he  promised  that  appeals  should  not  be 
permitted  to  Kome,  before  the  Norwegian  prelates  had  con- 
sidered the  matter.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  above  that 
the  bishops  in  Norway  were  alive  to  the  danger  which 
threatened  them,  and  they  desired  to  bind  the  king  down 
very  strictly,  by  a  promise  to  check  the  spread  of  the 
doctrines  of  Luther,  especially  when  they  knew  that  the 
Danish  kings,  chiefly  from  political  motives,  had  been 
inclined  to  favour  the  German  reformation  movement. 

The  purely  civil  points  in  the  manifesto  were  promises 
to  rule  according  to  the  law  of  St.  Olaf  and  the  national 
customs,  &c.  He  was  not  to  claim  the  throne  by  here- 
ditary right,  as  it  was  now  made  an  elective  monarchy. 
The  Orkneys  and  Shetlands  were  to  be  redeemed  and 
restored  to  Norway,  from  which  country  they  had  been 
alienated  without  the  consent  of  the  Council. 

Frederick  accepted  these  conditions  to  obtain  the  crown 
of  Norway,  but  accepted  them  without  (as  his  subsequent 
actions  showed)  the  least  intention  of  being  faithful  to  his 
promise. 

The  king  at  this  time  was  of  the  mature  age  of  53,  and 
there  was,  therefore,  less  excuse  for  his  deliberate  breach 
of  faith  with  the  Norwegian  Church.  The  only  excuse 


ESKE   BILDE  AT  BERGEN.  309 

for  him  was,  that  he  was  more  or  less  in  the  hands  of  the 
Danish  nobles  and  others,  who  hoped  to  profit,  as  they  did 
largely,  by  the  spoliation  of  the  Church.  The  Danish 
party  were  determined,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  crush  out 
the  independence  of  Norway  and  to  reduce  it  to  the 
condition  of  a  province  of  Denmark.  On  this  account 
Yincent  Lunge,  who  was  now  on  the  side  of  Norwegian 
independence  under  the  Danish  Crown,  became  very 
unpopular,  and  the  court  decided  to  get  rid  of  him,  if 
possible,  and  to  place  Danish  nobles  in  command  in  all  the 
Norwegian  strongholds.  The  first  step  in  this  direction 
was  to  remove  Olaf  Galde  (in  1527)  from  the  charge  of 
Akershus  and  to  set  a  Dane  in  his  place.  Needless  to  say, 
this  was  entirely  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  manifesto 
issued  from  Eibe. 

The  next  year  (1528)  the  king  determined  that  the 
command  of  the  fortress  at  Bergen,  should  be  transferred 
from  Vincent  Lunge  to  Eske  Bilde,  another  Danish  noble, 
who  had  married  a  daughter  of  the  notorious  Henrik 
Krummedike.  This  change  of  command  was  carried  out 
early  the  next  year. 

Vincent  Lunge  was,  however,  allowed  to  hold  many 
possessions  in  the  north,  and  was  further  given  the 
Nonnesaeter  cloister  at  Bergen,  which  was  seized  by  the 
king  from  the  Antonius  order.  This  cloister  lay  on  the 
neck  of  land  between  the  two  small  lakes  to  the  south  of 
Bergen,  and  Lunge  quickly  transferred  it  into  a  well- 
defended  house  for  himself,  and  called  it  Lunge's  Gaard* 
These  two  lakes  now  preserve  his  name,  and  are  known  as 
Lungegaardsvandene. 

"We  now  come  to  the  time  when  the  Norwegian  Church 
had  to  enter  upon  the  conflict  in  which  she  was  crushed, 
and  when  all  the  ancient  possessions  wherewith  the  piety 

*  Some  remains  of  the  cloister  may  still  be  seen,  including  the  door- 
way of  the  chapel. 


310  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

of  her  sons  and  daughters  had  endowed  her  from  the 
earliest  days,  were  to  be  swept  away  into  the  pockets  of 
the  king  of  Denmark  and  his  needy  courtiers.  Never  was 
there  a  more  wanton  spoliation  than  that  which  befell  the 
Church  of  Norway,  and  never  had  religion  less  to  do  with 
it.  The  attack  on,  and  the  plunder  of,  the  Norwegian 
Church  was  practically  something  entirely  apart  and 
distinct  from  religion.  In  other  countries  of  Europe — in 
Germany,  Holland,  Denmark,  &c. — the  teaching  of  Luther 
had  profoundly  impressed  the  minds  of  the  people,  and 
they  accepted  the  principles  of  the  Eeformation,  on 
thoroughly  conscientious  grounds.  The  abuses  and  cor- 
ruptions of  the  time  had  called  aloud  for  reform,  and  when 
the  various  councils  which  had  been  held  were  found 
powerless  to  effect  this,  and  the  occupants  of  the  Eoman 
See  were  men  less  and  less  likely  to  combat  them,  it  was 
only  natural  that  in  the  Teutonic  races,  the  old  spirit  of 
independence  should  assert  itself,  and  make  an  effort  to 
cast  off  a  yoke  which  had  proved  too  galling. 

But  it  cannot  be  said  with  truth  that  there  was  in  Norway 
any  real  desire  for  change.  We  have  noticed  before,  that 
the  Church  in  Norway  had  escaped  many  of  the  corruptions 
which  prevailed  in  other  lands,  on  account  of  its  remote 
geographical  position.  It  is  quite  true,  of  course,  that 
it  did  not  escape  altogether,  and  that,  especially  after  the 
desolations  caused  by  the  Black  Death,  there  was  much 
to  lament  over ;  but  to  assert  that  the  disestablishment  and 
disendowment  of  the  Church  in  Norway  had  any  real 
popular  support,  would  be  entirely  and  altogether  contrary 
to  fact.  The  popular  movements  which  we  meet  with  in 
England  during  the  middle  ages,  against  the  abuses  of  the 
Church,  and  the  evil  lives  of  many  of  the  monks,  had 
no  counterparts  in  Norway,  possibly  from  the  very  reason 
just  stated.  But  the  fact  remains  that  in  Norway  there 
was  no  reformation  movement  whatever.  No  Wyclif  was 


THE   BISHOPS   OF  NORWAY   IN   1528.  311 

found  among  her  parish  priests ;  no  Lollards  ever  caused 
disquietude  to  the  bishops;  no  Piers  Plowman  ever  dreamed 
dreams  or  saw  visions  on  the  Norwegian  hills.  Priests 
and  people  alike  lived  contentedly  within  the  fold  of  the 
holy  Church.  Its  spoliation  therefore  was  completely 
a  political  movement,  and  the  work  of  a  king  who  had 
solemnly  pledged  his  royal  word,  a  few  years  before,  to 
do  everything  in  his  power  to  support  the  Church  and  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  the  teaching  of  Luther. 

It  was  a  very  unfortunate  thing  for  the  Norwegian 
Church  in  this  critical  time,  that  the  five  sees  were  filled 
with  men  of  very  different  calibre  from  many  of  their 
predecessors.  Had  they  been  men  of  power,  it  would 
hardly  have  been  possible,  that  the  wholesale  destruction 
which  went  on  from  1528,  could  have  taken  place.  It 
would  be  unfair  to  assert  that  it  was  because  they  were 
more  or  less  nominees  of  the  Danish  Government,  for 
Erik  Yalkendorf  was  a  Dane,  and  he  proved  himself  a 
strong  and  capable  archbishop  and  a  defender  of  the 
Norwegian  Church's  privileges  ;  and  now  the  occupant  of 
the  see  of  Nidaros  was  a  member  of  an  old  Norwegian 
family. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  call  to  mind  the  names  of  those 
who  were  the  bishops  at  this  time.  Of  the  primate  we 
have  already  spoken. 

The  bishop  of  Bergen  was  Olaf  Thorkildss0n,  who  was 
consecrated  in  1523.  He  seems  to  have  been  the  most 
feeble  of  all  the  prelates,  and  was  unfortunately  in  the 
place  where  a  very  strong  man  was  specially  needed.  He 
was,  it  is  believed,  personally  a  good  man,  but  when  the 
storm  came,  his  only  idea  was  to  get  away  from  it,  and 
leave  his  unfortunate  diocese  and  cathedral  city  to  shift 
for  themselves. 

Stavanger  was  filled  by  Hoskold  Hoskoldss0n,  who  was 
consecrated  in  1513.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Eostock.  Like 


312  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

his  brother  of  Bergen,  he  was  timid  and  feeble,  and  was 
entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  Danish  nobles,  who  dominated 
the  land.  The  occupant  of  the  see  of  Oslo  was  a  man  of 
very  different  type  from  the  bishops  of  either  Bergen  or 
Stavanger — the  unscrupulous  and  time-serving  Hans  Beff, 
who  was  consecrated  in  1525.  He  had  succeeded  Hans 
Mule,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  forced  Andreas  Mus  to  resign 
his  see  in  1521,  but  Mule  was  not  consecrated  until  1524 
by  Archbishop  Olaf  in  Bergen.  He,  however,  was  drowned 
very  soon  after  his  consecration.  Hans  Eeff  was  a  Dane, 
and  had  studied  in  Paris,  and  before  his  election  he  had  been 
a  canon  of  Nidaros.  He  was  a  very  shrewd  man  of  busi- 
ness, and  was  not  willing  to  allow  his  opinions  to  interfere 
with  his  worldly  prospects. 

The  remaining  diocese,  that  of  Hamar,  had  as  its  bishop 
Magnus  Lauritss0n,  who  was  a  man  diligent  and  conscientious 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  but  otherwise  not  of  any 
great  power. 

Such  were  the  rulers  of  the  Norwegian  Church  when 
the  struggle  commenced  in  1528,  and  in  a  few  years  after, 
with  one  ignoble  exception,  we  find  them  all  scattered,  and 
the  historic  episcopate  of  Norway  a  thing  of  the  past. 

We  must  turn  again  for  a  moment  to  the  history  of 
Denmark,  in  order  to  see  the  progress  which  the  reforma- 
tion movement  was  making  in  that  land.  Frederick  I., 
though  posing  as  a  defender  of  the  faith  in  Norway,  had 
always  been  inclined  to  the  opinions  of  Luther,  while  his 
son,  Duke  Kristian,  was  openly  a  Lutheran.  The  prospect 
of  the  progress  of  the  reformation  movement,  began  to 
alarm  the  bishops  and  clergy  in  Denmark,  and  the  question 
came  before  the  national  assemblies.  In  1526  the  king 
held  a  Diet,  or,  as  it  was  called  in  Denmark,  a  Herredag^  at 
Odense,  and  at  it  he  proposed  that,  instead  of  going  to 
Borne  for  confirmation,  the  bishops  should  only  apply  to 
the  archbishop  of  Lund,  and  the  money  thus  saved  should 


HERREDAG  AT  ODENSE.  313 

go  to  national  defence.  There  was  no  special  objection  to 
this,  on  the  part  of  the  Herredag^  especially  as  it  was  but 
a  return  to  ancient  and  lawful  custom  in  the  Danish  Church; 
but  then  it  was  to  be  remembered  that  the  see  of  Lund  was 
vacant,  and  it  meant  that  the  king  was  to  be  the  person  to 
confirm  the  election  of  the  bishops. 

The  bishops,  in  return  for  this  concession,  asked  the 
king  not  to  grant  letters  of  protection  to  any  persons 
enabling  them  to  preach,  as  it  was  their  right  to  give  such 
licence.  Frederick  was,  however,  very  skilful  in  evading 
any  direct  answer  to  these  demands;  indeed,  he  denied  that 
he  had  ever  given  such  letters,  and  when  again  pressed  on 
the  subject,  he  managed  to  avoid  a  reply,  and  kept  the 
bishops  at  bay  until  he  left  Odense. 

The  next  year  another  Herredag  was  held  at  the  same 
place  in  August,  and  now  the  king's  designs  became  more 
and  more  manifest.  Still,  he  had  to  be  cautious,  because  it 
was  necessary  that  he  should  have  the  nobles  on  his  side, 
and  do  nothing  by  which  he  should  lose  their  support  while 
the  exiled  King  Kristian  II.  lived,  whose  popularity  with 
the  b0nder  and  towns-folk  was  a  standing  danger  to 
Frederick.  But  notwithstanding  this,  it  was  clear  that  he 
intended  to  grant,  at  any  rate  toleration,  to  the  Lutherans 
throughout  his  dominions,  and  this,  in  spite  of  the  prelates, 
he  was  able  to  do,  and  to  carry  the  Herredag  with  him  in 
his  reforms.  What  was  decided  practically  established 
religious  liberty  and  toleration  for  Lutherans,  and  gave 
permission  to  the  priests  and  monks  to  marry,  if  they 
thought  fit. 

It  was  only  natural  that  these  very  revolutionary  changes 
should  excite  the  greatest  hostility  on  the  side  of  those  who 
still  held  by  the  Eoman  allegiance,  for  they  at  once 
opened  the  door  for  the  spread  in  every  direction  of  the 
tenets  of  the  Lutherans,  and  the  king's  son,  Duke 
Kristian,  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Lutheranism.  In 


314  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Denmark,  at  any  rate,  the  reformed  doctrines  were  wide- 
spread among  the  people,  and  the  continual  controversies 
between  the  nobles  and  bishops,  prevented  any  effective 
opposition  to  them,  on  the  part  of  the  adherents  of  the 
old  faith. 

As  was  only  to  be  expected,  it  was  not  long  before  these 
changes  in  Denmark  began  to  make  themselves  felt  in 
Norway  as  well.  Hitherto  no  teacher  or  preacher  of 
Lutheranism  had  come  to  the  country,  but  when  the  king 
began  to  grant  letters  of  protection,  they  soon  put  in  an 
appearance. 

In  1528,  the  year  after  the  Herredag  at  Odense,  the 
first  preacher  arrived  in  Bergen.  His  name  was  Antonius ; 
but  beyond  this  we  know  little,  and  he  seems  to  have 
devoted  himself  chiefly  to  the  German  residents  in  the  city, 
and  afterwards  he  was  the  priest  of  St.  Halvard's  Church. 
It  would  appear  that  the  preaching  of  Antonius  was  attended 
with  success,  for  we  find  that  he  required  help,  and  in 
the  next  year,  1529,  two  more  Lutheran  teachers  arrived 
in  Bergen,  with  a  letter  from  the  king  to  Eske  Bilde, 
announcing  that  he  had  granted  his  permission  to  them. 
The  names  of  the  new  preachers  were  Herman  Fresze  and 
Jens  Yiborg.  It  would  seem  that  in  the  same  year  teachers 
appeared  also  in  Stavanger. 

King  Frederick  in  1529  sent  his  son  Duke  Kristian  to 
Norway,  on  a  mission  which  had  more  of  a  political  than 
ecclesiastical  character.  He  was  anxious  that  Kristian 
should  be  accepted  as  the  heir  to  the  throne  of  Norway, 
but  at  the  time  of  his  own  election,  in  15 24,  the  Norwegian 
Council  had  made  it  clear  that  they  did  not  recognize  any 
hereditary  right  to  the  throne.  The  duke  held  a  meeting 
in  Oslo,  at  which  the  archbishop  and  all  the  Norwegian 
bishops  (except  Hans  Ben0)  were  conspicuous  by  their 
absence.  The  mission  of  Duke  Kristian  was  a  failure  as 
far  as  the  recognition  of  his  rights  was  concerned,  and 


DESTRUCTION   OF  CHURCHES  IN  BERGEN.        315 

instead  of  spending  some  considerable  time  in  the  country, 
and  visiting  Bergen,  he  left  Oslo  in  September  for  Denmark. 

We  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  extraordinary 
attack  which  was  made  upon  the  Church  in  the  city  of 
Bergen  and  see  the  amazing  and  shameful  way  in  which 
the  bishop  seems  to  have  betrayed  his  trust.  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  Nonnesseter  cloister  had  been  secu- 
larized in  1528,  and  handed  over  to  Vincent  Lunge  as  his 
private  residence.  About  the  same  time  it  would  appear 
that  the  Dominican  cloister,  which  stood  near  to  the  royal 
residence  and  the  castle  (Bergenhus),  had  been  burned 
down.  It  is  not  quite  clear  how  this  came  about,  but  it  is 
believed  that  Vincent  Lunge  and  the  prior  Jens  Mortenss0n 
divided  the  spoils  of  the  monastery  between  them  and  then 
set  the  place  on  fire.*  The  prior  received  compensation 
for  the  loss  by  a  grant  of  some  farms.  Another  act  of 
spoliation  at  this  time  was  the  stripping  of  the  Apostles' 
Church  (the  chapel  royal)  of  all  its  valuables,  and  these 
Vincent  Lunge  handed  over  to  the  king  on  his  visit  to 
Denmark  in  1530. 

It  would  seem  that  Lunge  took  this  journey  in  order  to 
try  and  regain  the  royal  favour,  but  in  this  he  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  very  successful.  On  his  return  to 
Bergen  he  tried,  by  a  daring  stroke,  to  regain  possession 
of  the  Bergenhus  or  fortress.  Eske  Bilde  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  placed  in  command  there  in  1529  by  the  king  in  place 
of  Lunge,  and  was  naturally  his  most  formidable  rival. 
Lunge,  when  he  came  back  to  Bergen,  at  once  applied  to 
Bilde  to  surrender  the  fortress  to  him,  on  the  ground  that 
he  had  received  the  command  of  it  from  the  king  during 
his  stay  in  Copenhagen.  Eske  Bilde  promptly  declined  to 
do  any  such  thing  without  written  authority,  and  applied 

*  Lange,  in  his  De  Norske  Klostres  Historic,  seems  to  make  no  doubt 
about  this ;  he  also  adds  that  the  prior  Jens  Mortenss0n  appears  to  have 
taken  service  in  Vincent  Lunge's  household  afterwards. 


316  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

to  the  king,  who  repudiated  Lunge's  statement  and  con- 
firmed Eske  Bilde  in  his  post. 

Now  began  the  wholesale  destruction  of  ecclesiastical 
buildings  in  the  city  of  Bergen,  which  marked  the  rule  of 
the  Danish  governors,  and  swept  away  many  noble  edifices 
which  had  adorned  the  town.  This  was  especially  the 
work  of  Eske  Bilde,  and  it  gained  for  him  the  unenviable 
title  of  Kirkebryder — the  puller-down  of  churches. 

Clustering  around  the  Bergenhus,  with  the  noble  hall 
built  by  Sverre's  grandson,  Haakon  Haakonss0n,  there  stood 
at  that  time  a  number  of  churches."*  The  first  in  importance 
was  the  cathedral,  the  greater  Christ  Church,  so  closely 
associated  with  the  national  history  (second  only  in  this 
respect  to  the  Domkirke  in  Trondhjem),  and  the  burial- 
place  of  kings  and  bishops.  Then  there  was  the  little 
Christ  Church,  a  short  way  from  the  cathedral,  and  of 
earlier  date,  having  been  built  about  the  time  the  town 
was  founded  by  Olaf  Kyrre;  in  it  rested  the  remains  of 
St.  Sunniva,  which  had  been  brought  from  Selje  in  the 
twelfth  century.  In  the  precincts  of  the  royal  palace 
stood  the  Apostles'  Church,  which  was  the  most  beautiful 
building  in  Norway.  It  was  the  third  church  which  had 
borne  the  name.  The  first  was  of  wood,  and  was  destroyed 
by  fire ;  the  second,  of  stone,  was  consecrated  by  Cardinal 
William  of  Sabina  in  1247.  Then  in  1302  Archbishop 
Jon  returned  from  Paris,  bringing  with  him  a  "Holy 
Thorn,"  which  he  had  received  from  Philip  III.  of 
France,  and  for  this  relic  a  third  church,  somewhat  in  the 
style  of  Sainte  Chapelle  in  Paris  was  erected,  and  adorned 
with  statues  of  the  twelve  Apostles.  This  church,  like  its 
predecessors,  was  the  royal  chapel  in  Bergen.  The  arch- 
bishop's palace  and  the  residences  of  the  canons  completed 


*  For  a  description  of  Bergen  in  the  Middle  Ages,  see  Dr.  Yngvar 
Nielsen's  valuable  work,  entitled,  Bergen,  fra  de  caldste  Tider  indtil 
Nutiden.  Christiania,  1877. 


THE  CATHEDRAL  OF  BERGEN  DESTROYED.       317 

the  ecclesiastical  buildings,  the  Dominican  cloister  having 
been  just  burned  down.  Such  were  the  buildings  which 
now  lay  at  the  mercy  of  Eske  Bilde. 

Here  was  a  chance  which  a  Cromwell  might  have  envied 
for  earning  the  title  of  Kirkebryder.  But  even  Eske  Bilde 
could  hardly  embark  on  this  without  some  excuse,  and  a 
convenient  one  was  found.  It  was  discovered  that  these 
various  churches  interfered  with  the  defensive  works  of  the 
fortress,  and  that  the  exigencies  of  the  public  service 
demanded  their  removal.  King  Frederick,  therefore,  in  1 5 30 
ordered  Eske  Bilde  to  begin,  and  promptly  the  Apostles' 
Church  became  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  its  treasures 
were  carried  to  Denmark.  The  next  to  be  attacked  was 
the  cathedral,  but  here  even  Eske  hesitated.  As  a  skilful 
soldier  he  saw  that  the  great  monastery  of  Munkeliv,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  harbour,  would  be  a  much  better 
position  for  a  fortress,  than  the  one  which  he  occupied, 
which  was  commanded  on  all  sides  by  hills ;  he  was  willing 
to  leave  the  cathedral  alone  and  build  a  new  fort  on  the 
site  of  Munkeliv.  His  scheme,  however,  was  not  carried  out, 
and  the  doom  of  the  cathedral  was  pronounced.  We  might 
well  wonder  what  the  bishop  of  Bergen  was  doing  at  this 
time,  and  why  he  had  not  taken  some  very  decided  steps 
to  have  the  Church's  property  protected,  and  to  stop  the 
destruction  of  churches  and  other  ecclesiastical  buildings, 
in  which  he  would  have  had  ample  support  in  the  ancient 
law  of  the  land.  But  he  did  absolutely  nothing,  and  was 
actually  a  consenting  party  to  their  destruction.  In 
February,  1531,  the  bishop  and  the  archdeacon  made  a 
bargain  with  Eske  Bilde  and  others  to  permit  the 
cathedral  to  be  pulled  down,^  along  with  the  bishop's 
residence,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  needed  for  the 
defence  of  the  town,  and  in  lieu  of  the  cathedral,  &c., 

*  They  abandoned  it  "  of  their  free  will,  well-considered  counsel  and 
consent  ...  to  be  broken  down  and  carried  away." 


318  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

the  bishop  was  to  have  Munkeliv  for  his  cathedral  and 
residence.  This  scandalous  bargain  having  been  made, 
the  bishop  actually  issued  an  invitation  to  the  people  of 
the  town  and  its  neighbourhood,  to  come  and  help  in  the 
pulling  down  of  his  ancient  cathedral  church,  and  in  May 
of  this  year,  the  place  was  levelled  to  the  ground.  These 
attacks  on  the  Church  in  Bergen  naturally  emboldened  the 
adherents  of  the  Lutheran  party,  and,  far  from  becoming 
popular  with  them  for  his  acquiescence  in  the  designs  of 
the  Danish  nobles,  the  bishop  was  openly  insulted  in  the 
streets.  The  Lutherans  now  seized  upon  the  Kors  Kirke 
(Church  of  the  Holy  Cross)  and  established  the  reformed 
service  there.  Not  long  after  this,  the  German  merchants 
put  an  end  to  the  service  in  the  Maria  Kirke,  and  placed 
there  a  German  pastor  instead  of  the  Norwegian  priest,  and 
in  St.  Halvard's  Church  the  same  course  was  adopted. 
These  measures  provoked  reprisals,  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  burn  down  the  house  of  one  of  the  German 
preachers. 

The  feeble  Bishop,  Olaf  Thorkildss0n  had  now  taken 
up  his  residence  in  the  Munkeliv  cloister,  from  whence 
the  Birgitta  order  had  been  expelled,  and  here  he 
remained  for  a  while  without  any  attempt  to  save  the 
Church  in  his  diocese.  It  might  naturally  have  been 
expected  that  when  the  attack  was  first  made  in  the 
beginning  of  1530,  on  the  churches  around  the  fortress, 
he  would  have  appealed  at  once  to  the  primate  for  aid, 
not  merely  as  his  metropolitan,  but  as  the  head  of  the 
council  in  Norway.  But  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  it  was 
not  until  the  devastation  was  completed,  that  he  informed 
Archbishop  Olaf  of  what  had  taken  place.  What  he  might 
have  done  to  assist  his  suffragan  in  the  defence  of  the 
Church's  property  under  other  circumstances,  it  is  hard  to 
say ;  but  just  at  this  time  the  archbishop  had  his  hands  full 
in  his  own  diocese,  for  there,  as  well  as  in  Bergen,  attacks 


THE  BISHOPS  TURN  TO   KRISTIAN  II.  319 

were  being  made  on  the  property  and  privileges  of  the 
Church.  The  archbishop's  principal  antagonists  were 
Nils  Lykke  and  his  mother-in-law,  the  well-known  Fru 
Ingerd  (widow  of  Nils  Henrikss0n),  whose  eldest  daughter 
had,  as  we  know,  married  Vincent  Lunge.  Lykke  had 
secured  possession  of  the  monastery  of  Tautra,  and  Fru 
Ingerd  had  got  herself  elected  abbess  of  Eeins  cloister, 
both  entirely  illegal  acts,  which  afterwards  received  the 
royal  sanction.  Fru  Ingerd  and  her  party  were  nominally 
inclined  to  the  Lutherans,  but  it  seems  probable  that  they 
adopted  that  course,  merely  out  of  hostility  to  the  arch- 
bishop, and  not  from  any  conscientious  motives. 

With  this  threatening  state  of  affairs,  and  the  evident 
intention  of  the  king  to  consent  to  the  secularization  of  the 
Church's  property  and  to  give  free  scope  to  the  spread  of 
Lutheranisin,  the  archbishop  and  others  began  to  turn  their 
thoughts  to  the  exiled  king,  Kristian  II.,  in  the  hope  that 
he  might  prove  a  deliverer.  The  previous  record  of  that 
monarch  was  not  indeed  an  encouraging  one.  During  his 
reign  the  attack  on  the  monastic  establishments  had  begun ; 
his  manifesto  on  his  accession  he  had  disregarded  in  quite 
as  flagrant  a  manner  as  Frederick  had  done ;  and  his  con- 
duct during  his  government  of  Norway  in  his  father's  life- 
time, was  not  such  as  to  inspire  any  confidence  in  him. 
Still  there  seemed  no  one  else  to  whom  the  archbishop  and 
his  party  could  turn  for  help  in  this  emergency;  and  besides, 
it  was  to  him,  that  the  archbishop  had  first  sworn  allegiance 
after  his  election  to  the  primacy,  and  on  his  journey  to 
Eome  to  be  consecrated  in  1523. 

Kristian  II.,  after  his  flight  from  Copenhagen  in  1523, 
had,  as  we  have  seen,  taken  up  his  residence  in  the  Nether- 
lands with  his  wife  and  family,  and  also  the  notorious 
Sigbrit.  There  he  was  received  with  scant  courtesy,  on 
account  of  his  having  encouraged  Lutheranism,  and  also  for 
his  having,  after  his  marriage  with  Isabella,  refused  to 


320  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

abandon  Dyveke,  and  his  still  being  under  the  influence  of 
her  mother.  Queen  Isabella  died  in  1526,  and  left  one  son, 
Hans.  While  Kristian' s  mother-in-law,  the  Duchess  of 
Savoy,  lived,  her  influence  prevented  Charles  Y.  from 
doing  anything  to  help  him,  but  after  her  death  in  1530 
his  prospects  improved.  A  few  months  before,  Kristian 
had  had  an  interview  with  his  imperial  brother-in-law  at 
Augsburg,  and  found  him  ready  to  give  him  some  help, 
but  not  unconditionally.  Before  Charles  Y.  would  do  any- 
thing, it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  Kristian  should  purge 
himself  from  any  suspicion  of  being  tainted  with  Lutheran 
heresy.  Where  his  own  interests  were  concerned,  Kristian 
was  quite  ready  to  abjure  any  form  of  faith  which  the 
emperor  might  desire.  Charles  then  entrusted  to  Cardinal 
Campeggio,  the  task  of  reconciling  his  unworthy  brother- 
in-law  to  the  Church,  and  before  the  cardinal,  Kristian 
solemnly  declared  his  abhorrence  of  all  the  doctrines  of 
Martin  Luther,  and  submitted  with  good  grace  to  the 
severe  penance  which  Campeggio  imposed  upon  him,  for  his 
previous  backsliding  from  the  Catholic  faith. 

Having  thus  made  his  peace  with  the  Church  and  regained 
a  measure  of  the  favour  of  his  powerful  relative,  Kristian 
awaited  a  favourable  opportunity  of  making  an  effort  to 
recover  his  lost  dominions.  King  Frederick  had  always 
feared  lest  he  should  be  attacked  by  Kristian,  knowing 
how  popular  he  had  been  with  the  people  in  Denmark,  but 
without  imperial  support  Kristian  had  not  the  means  of 
equipping  any  force  powerful  enough  to  attack  Denmark 
or  Norway.  He  had,  however,  his  agents,  who  were 
watching  the  course  of  events,  and  when  he  learned  of  the 
attacks  which  had  been  made  on  the  Church  in  Norway 
and  elsewhere,  he  began  to  think  that  the  prelates  would — 
in  spite  of  his  previous  record — be  ready  to  welcome  him 
as  a  deliverer. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  if  the  archbishop  had  been  in  any 


KRISTIAN  II.   INVADES  NORWAY.  321 

treasonable  correspondence  with  the  exiled  king;  on  the 
whole  it  is  probable  he  had  not,  but  his  conduct  in  1531, 
before  the  arrival  of  Kristian,  was,  to  a  certain  extent  at 
any  rate,  open  to  suspicion.  In  May,  1531,  King  Frederick 
issued  summonses  for  a  Herredag  to  be  held  at  Copenhagen 
in  the  June  following,  and  to  this  the  archbishop  and 
bishops  of  Norway  were  duly  cited.  Eske  Bilde,  who,  in 
spite  of  his  love  for  destroying  churches,  seems  to  have 
been  a  more  honest  man  than  his  rivals  Vincent  Lunge  and 
Nils  Lykke,  was  very  anxious  that  the  archbishop  should 
be  present  at  this  meeting,  and  that  he  should  come  to 
better  terms  with  the  king.  The  archbishop,  however, 
did  not  seem  inclined  to  go,  and  in  May  he  found  a  suitable 
excuse  in  a  great  fire  which  broke  out  in  Trondhjem,  and 
which  destroyed  some  of  the  churches  and  almost  again 
ruined  the  cathedral.  This  calamity  sufficed  to  keep 
Archbishop  Olaf  at  home;  but  the  bishops  of  Bergen, 
Stavanger,  and  Oslo  started  for  Copenhagen,  and  thither 
also  went  Vincent  Lunge,  Eske  Bilde,  Nils  Lykke,  and  all 
the  chief  Danish  nobles  from  Norway. 

This  was  the  opportunity  for  which  Kristian  was  waiting. 
His  trusty  men  went  through  the  country  preparing  the 
people  for  the  revolt,  and  received  much  encouragement 
from  the  Church.  They  passed  through  the  Oplands  and 
on  to  Trondhjem  and  collected  supplies,  which  were  sent  to 
Kristian  in  the  Netherlands.  By  means  of  this  money, 
and  the  help  of  the  emperor,  Kristian  got  together  an  army 
of  7,000  men,  and  a  fleet  of  twenty-five  ships,  and  at  the  end 
of  October,  1531,  he  set  sail  for  Norway.  The  voyage  from 
Holland  proved  a  most  tempestuous  one ;  some  of  his  ships 
were  lost,  and  much  of  his  treasure  and  artillery.  He  did 
not  reach  the  Norwegian  coast  until  November  5th,  and 
the  next  day  he  issued  an  appeal  to  the  people  of  Norway, 
in  which  he  said  he  came  to  them  as  a  deliverer  and  asked 
that  representatives  of  the  country  should  meet  him  at 

C.S.N.  y 


322  CHURCH    AND    STATE    IN    NORWAY. 

Oslo,  to  which  place  he  made  his  way,  having  written  to 
the  archbishop  to  meet  him  there.  On  his  arrival  at  Oslo 
he  found  the  fortress  of  Akershus  in  the  hands  of  Gylden- 
stjerne,  the  Danish  commander,  who  declined  to  give  up 
the  place  until  he  had  communicated  with  Frederick,  but 
promised  if  he  did  not  hear  within  a  reasonable  time,  he 
would  surrender.  Kristian  was  foolish  enough  to  agree  to 
this,  but  it  is  also  probable  that,  having  lost  all  his  guns, 
he  found  an  attack  would  not  be  successful. 

The  crafty  bishop  of  Oslo,  Hans  Eeff,  now  found  himself 
obliged  to  accept  Kristian' s  authority,  and  he  authorized 
the  clergy  in  his  diocese  to  give  up  all  the  silver  belonging 
to  their  churches,  except  what  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
retain.  This  was  largely  done,  and  the  churches  were  much 
impoverished. 

The  archbishop  did  not  respond  to  Kristian's  invitation 
to  join  him  at  Oslo,  but  contented  himself  with  proclaim- 
ing him  and  sending  his  manifesto  round  his  diocese. 
In  January,  Kristian  wrote  from  Oslo  to  the  archbishop, 
directing  him  if  possible  to  seize  Yincent  Lunge  and 
Fru  Ingerd,  but  in  this  he  was  not  successful,  as  they 
escaped  to  Bergen. 

Early  in  the  month  of  January,  1532,  Kristian,  finding 
he  could  do  nothing  against  the  fortress  of  Akershus,  went 
on  an  expedition  against  the  Swedes,  who  had  invaded  the 
country  near  Baahus.  This  expedition  was  successful,  and 
the  Swedes  were  driven  back.  In  the  meantime,  however, 
the  brave  defender  of  Akershus  had  not  been  idle. 
Finding  that  Kristian  was  absent,  he,  on  January  21st, 
made  a  sortie  from  the  fortress,  and,  crossing  the  ice, 
attacked  the  monastery  on  Hoved0en,  and  seizing  the  abbot, 
who  was  asleep  in  his  bed,  little  dreaming  of  danger, 
burned  the  cloister,  and  carried  off  all  the  treasure  to 
Akershus.  When  Kristian  heard  of  this,  he  quickly 
returned  to  Oslo,  and  made  another  attack  on  the  fortress, 


KRISTIAN   SURRENDERS  AT  OSLO.  323 

which  was  repulsed,  and  Gyldenstjerne  now  considered 
he  was  strong  enough  to  hold  out  until  help  came  in  the 
spring. 

It  seems  strange  that  Kristian  should  have  wasted  his 
time  in  the  investment  of  Akershus,  instead  of  consolidating 
his  power  in  Norway,  which  was  now  nominally  under  his 
authority,  but  he  seems  to  have  always  failed  to  act  with 
energy,  even  when  he  had  a  sufficient  force  behind  him. 

Meanwhile  Frederick  was  busy  preparing  to  crush  his 
nephew.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  invasion  of  Norway 
he  saw  it  must  be  a  struggle  to  the  death  with  Kristian, 
and  he  set  to  work  at  once  to  gather  his  forces.  The 
Liibeckers,  at  the  end  of  November,  1531,  sent  him  some 
ships  and  a  promise  of  more  help  later  on.  Kristian  had 
been  wise  in  choosing  the  winter  for  the  time  of  his  attack 
on  Oslo,  as  the  ice  in  the  fjord  rendered  it  impossible  for  a 
Danish  fleet  to  reach  the  town,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
spring  that  the  expedition  to  relieve  it  could  start.  The 
months  went  by  and  Kristian  remained  inactive  before 
Akershus.  At  last,  on  May  7th,  Frederick's  fleet,  of 
twenty-five  ships  and  6000  to  7000  men,  reached  Oslo 
and  relieved  Akershus.  Kristian  then  entrenched  himself 
at  Oslo,  but  the  Danish  forces  set  fire  to  his  ships,  and  on 
the  12th  he  began  negotiations  for  surrender. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Eske  Bilde  sent  Otto  Stigsen, 
Thord  Eoed,  and  others  from  Eergen  to  attack  the  arch- 
bishop in  Trondhjem.  He  retired  to  his  castle  at  Stenviks- 
holm,  but  the  Danes  set  fire  to  the  archbishop's  palace  and 
some  of  his  farmhouses. 

Frederick  had  not  come  in  command  of  the  army  and 
fleet  sent  to  relieve  Oslo,  but  gave  the  expedition  into  the 
hands  of  four  men,  to  whom  also  he  entrusted  full  authority 
to  treat  with  the  enemy.  These  were  Knut  Gyldenstjerne 
(the  Bishop  of  Fyen),  Nils  Lykke,  Yon  Heiderstorp,  and 
the  brave  defender  of  Akershus,  Mogen  Gyldenstjerne, 

y  2 


324  CHURCH    AND    STATE    IN    NORWAY. 

brother  of  the  bishop.  Along  with  these  men  he  sent  his 
secretary,  with  his  royal  seal,  and  gave  them  full  authority 
to  act  in  his  name. 

The  negotiations  were  prolonged  between  Kristian  and 
the  Danes,  but  finally  it  was  agreed  that  Kristian  was  to 
be  given  a  safe  conduct  to  Copenhagen,  in  order  that 
he  might  have  an  interview  with  his  uncle  Frederick. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  four  commissioners 
distinctly  pledged  themselves  to  this,  and  that  if  no 
definite  agreement  was  made  between  the  kings,  Kristian 
should  be  brought  in  safety  to  Germany.  But  between 
the  opening  of  negotiations  for  the  surrender  at  Oslo 
and  the  month  of  July,  it  is  said  that  Frederick  sent 
two  of  his  men  with  strict  orders  to  Gyldenstjerne  and  the 
others,  to  make  no  terms  with  Kristian  except  absolute 
and  unconditional  surrender,  and  that  when  they  reached 
Oslo  the  conditions,  though  agreed  upon,  had  not  been 
signed.  Gyldenstjerne  and  the  others  declined  to  obey,  as 
they  had  unlimited  authority  given  to  them,  but  on  the 
other  hand,  they  did  not  tell  their  victim  of  the  king's 
fresh  orders. 

On  July  8th  the  betrayed  man  embarked  for  Copen- 
hagen, which  he  reached  on  the  24th.  When  he  got  there 
he  soon  saw  the  deceit  which  had  been  practised  upon  him. 
Frederick  refused  to  see  him,  and  he  was  not  allowed  to 
land.  Still  ignorant  of  his  fate,  he  was  taken  nominally 
to  Flensborg,  where  he  expected  to  find  the  king ;  but 
when  the  ship  proceeded  to  the  castle  of  S0nderborg.  he 
saw  he  was  betrayed,  and  burst  into  tears. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  imprisonment  another  heavy 
blow  fell  upon  him ;  his  only  son,  Hans,  died  at  Augsburg 
in  August,  1532,  and  now  all  hope  of  deliverance  was 
gone.  At  S0nderborg  he  remained  for  seventeen  years,  at 
first  treated  fairly,  but  afterwards  with  great  severity.  At 
the  end  of  that  period  he  was  removed  to  Kallundborg, 


THE  VIOLATED  SAFE  CONDUCT.  325 

where  he  was  left  until  in  1559  death  at  last  set  him  free 
at  the  age  of  seventy- eight  years. 

The  violation  of  the  promised  safe  conduct  was  un- 
doubtedly an  act  of  the  greatest  treachery,  and  for  which 
we  cannot  acquit  King  Frederick.  He  had  first  given  the 
four  commissioners  full  authority  and  his  royal  seal,  to 
sanction  all  that  they  did  in  Norway,  and  his  messages 
sent  when  the  negotiations  were  concluded  (though  not 
signed)  could  hardly  be  well  set  against  this.  The  blame 
must,  of  course,  be  shared  by  those  who  refused  to  tell 
Kristian  in  time,  of  the  message  they  had  received,  so  as  to 
give  him  an  opportunity  of  leaving  Norway  for  the  Nether- 
lands, or  some  other  safe  place.  It  remains,  however,  a 
lasting  stain  on  the  character  of  Frederick,  and  that  he  felt 
his  conduct  needed  explanation  is  shown  by  his  letter 
addressed  to  the  princes  of  Germany,  in  which  he  tried  to 
defend  himself.* 

In  spite  of  the  treachery  shown  towards  him,  and  his 
long  and  weary  incarceration,  it  is  hard  to  feel  much 
sympathy  for  Kristian  II.  During  those  twenty-seven 
years  of  imprisonment,  he  had  ample  time  to  reflect  upon 
the  terrible  crimes  which  had  darkened  his  life.  In  the 
silent  watches  of  the  night,  the  memory  of  his  own  harsh 
imprisonment  of  the  hapless  bishop  of  Hamar,  must  often 
have  come  before  his  mind,  together  with  the  recollection 
of  the  way  in  which  he  had  broken  the  promises  made  at 
the  time  of  his  accession  to  the  throne.  Visions  of  the 
awful  "  Blood-bath  of  Stockholm  "  may  well  have  filled  him 
with  horror.  Those  terrible  words  to  a  guilty  conscience, 
"  With,  what  measure  ye  meet,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again,"  may  well  have  rung  in  his  ears.  The  long  years 
of  his  weary  imprisonment  may  (let  us  hope)  have  led  the 
discrowned  king  in  his  old  age  to  reflect  upon  the  irreparable 

*  C.  Paludan-Miiller, "  De  f0rste  Konger  af  den  Oldenborgske  Slasgt." 
p.  560. 


326  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

harm  that  he  had  done  to  the  countries  over  which  he 
had  been  called  to  rule,  and  have  taught  him  that  the 
highest  glory  of  a  king  was  to  do  justice  and  right,  and 
that  to  keep  faith  with  his  people,  was  a  more  noble  orna- 
ment than  the  triple  crown  which  had  once  been  his. 

With  the  surrender  at  Oslo  all  resistance  to  the  authority 
of  Frederick  in  Norway  came  to  an  end.  Nils  Lykke  was 
sent  from  the  king,  with  full  power  to  deal  with  those  who 
had  been  concerned  in  the  rising.  Frederick  does  not 
seem  to  have  had  any  desire  to  deal  severely  with  the 
rebels,  or  to  drive  the  bishops  and  clergy  to  extremities- 
Nils  Lykke  came  first  to  Bergen,  and  then  with  Yincent 
Lunge  went  to  Trondhjem,  where  they  negotiated  with  the 
archbishop,  who  still  remained  in  his  castle  at  Stenviksholm. 

Matters  were  at  last  finally  arranged,  and  the  arch- 
bishop, on  again  taking  an  oath  of  fidelity  to  Frederick, 
escaped  with  a  fine  of  15,000  Danish  marks. 

Meanwhile  Hans  Keff,  the  Bishop  of  Oslo,  had  gone  to 
Copenhagen,  where  he  made  his  peace  with  Frederick,  and 
after  being,  like  the  primate,  mulcted  in  a  fine,  was  taken 
back  into  the  king's  favour.  The  bishop  of  Hamar  also 
escaped  with  a  fine,  and  the  bishops  of  Bergen  and 
Stavanger,  who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  rising,  were  not 
punished  in  any  way. 

The  monastery  of  Hoved0en  (which,  as  we  saw,  had  been 
burned  by  Mogen  Gyldenstjerne  in  January,  1532)  was 
secularized,  while  a  similar  fate  overtook  the  priory  of 
Yeerne  as  a  punishment  for  the  help  which  these  estab- 
lishments had  given  to  Kristian  II. 

Finally,  at  a  meeting  of  the  council  held  at  Trondhjem 
in  November,  1532,  all  renewed  their  allegiance  to 
Frederick,  and  peace  was  re-established  in  the  land. 
Frederick  did  not  long  survive  his  triumph  over  Kristian. 
He  died  at  Gottorp  on  Maundy  Thursday,  April  10th, 
1533,  after  a  short  reign  of  a  little  more  than  eight  years 


DEATH  OF  FEEDERICK  I.  327 

over  Norway,  during  which  time  he  had  never  been 
crowned.  His  reign  over  Denmark  was  only  two  years 
longer. 

The  manner  in  which  he  endeavoured  to  promote  the 
spread  of  Lutheranism  in  his  dominions,  very  highly 
incensed  the  bishops  and  clergy  against  him,  and  not 
without  cause,  when  we  remember  that  he  had  given  a 
distinct  pledge  to  both  Norway  and  Denmark,  at  the  time 
of  his  accession,  in  the  Eibe  Manifesto,  to  discountenance 
in  every  way  the  spread  of  Lutheran  teaching.  Of  his 
very  harsh  treatment  of  the  unworthy  but  betrayed 
Kristian  II.,  we  have  already  spoken. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  INTERREGNUM,   TO   THE   SIEGE  OF  COPENHAGEN. 

Interregnum — The  Strife  in  Denmark— The  Count's  "War — Duke 
Kristian  successful — Affairs  in  Norway — Frederick,  Count  Palatine, 
a  candidate — Archbishop  Olaf  temporizes — Vincent  Lunge,  Esko 
Bilde,  and  others  go  to  Trondhjem — Nils  Lykke  a  prisoner  there — 
The  Meeting  at  Trondhjem — Vincent  Lunge  killed  by  the  B0nder 
— The  Archbishop  imprisons  Eske  Bilde,  Hans  Reff,  and  others — 
The  Archbishop  sends  out  Forces  on  behalf  of  the  Count  Palatine 
— They  are  defeated — The  Archbishop  seeks  to  make  terms  with 
Kristian  III. 

THE  death  of  Frederick  I.  in  1533  was  followed  by  a 
period  of  four  years  during  which  civil  war  raged  in 
Denmark,  and  the  crown  of  Norway  was  vacant.  The 
government  of  the  country  was  carried  on  by  the  council, 
under  the  presidency  of  the  archbishop.  Had  he  been  a 
man  of  real  power,  he  might  at  this  time  have  succeeded 
in  shaking  off  the  Danish  yoke,  and  regaining  for  his 
country  the  independence  which  had  practically  been  lost ; 
but  at  the  most  critical  moments  he  failed  to  act  decisively, 
and  it  ended  in  the  complete  subjugation  of  Norway,  ani 
the  sweeping  away  of  the  ancient  Church  establishment. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  sketch  the  course  of  events  in 
Denmark  and  Norway  during  the  interregnum.  Frederick 
I.  had  been  twice  married,  and  by  his  first  wife  he  left  a 
son,  Duke  Kristian,  who  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death 
was  thirty  years  of  age.  He  was  an  open  and  avowed 
Lutheran.  By  his  second  marriage  Frederick  left  several 
children,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Duke  Hans,  was  at  this  time 
thirteen  years  old. 

When  Frederick  died,  parties  in  Denmark  were  divided 


AFFAIRS  IK  DENMARK.  329 

between  these  two  sons.  Many  of  the  nobles  were  in 
favour  of  Duke  Kristian,  but  the  bishops  and  the  country 
people,  as  a  rule,  were  supporters  of  Hans,  who  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  Catholic  faith. 

A  special  meeting  of  the  Danish  Council  was  at  once 
called  by  the  chancellor,  and  it  was  decided  to  postpone 
the  election  of  a  king  until  a  joint  meeting  with  the 
Norwegian  Council  could  be  arranged,  and  this,  after  a 
very  considerable  delay,  was  fixed  for  June  24th,  1534, 
at  Copenhagen. 

When  the  news  of  Frederick's  death  first  reached 
Norway,  the  archbishop  summoned  the  council  to  meet  the 
following  August,  in  spite  of  the  suggestion  of  Eske  Bilde 
that  it  should  be  deferred,  until  a  short  time  before  the 
joint  meeting,  intended  to  be  held  the  next  year.  Nothing 
was  decided  at  the  council,  which  met  under  the  presidency 
of  the  archbishop,  and  matters  remained  unchanged. 

As  the  time  for  going  to  Copenhagen  drew  near,  the 
archbishop  began  to  hesitate,  and  finally  only  got  as  far 
as  Bergen,  when  he  should  have  been  at  Copenhagen. 
Meanwhile  Eske  Bilde  and  Yincent  Lunge  had  started  on 
their  journey,  the  former  by  sea  and  the  latter  by  land. 
As  matters  turned  out,  it  was  as  well  for  the  archbishop 
that  he  had  remained  at  home. 

The  Herredag  at  Copenhagen  never  met,  for  matters  had 
taken  quite  a  new  turn  in  Denmark.  In  place  of  two 
parties,  those  of  Duke  Kristian  and  Duke  Hans,  there  arose 
a  third,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  it  was  to  be  the 
victorious  one,  both  in  Denmark  and  Norway. 

Kristian  II. ,  the  prisoner  in  S0nderborg,  had,  in  spite  of 
his  many  crimes,  still  a  following  in  Denmark,  and  his 
party  secured  the  powerful  help  of  the  city  of  Liibeck, 
which  for  commercial  reasons  was  ready  to  render  the 
needful  aid  to  place  Kristian  once  more  upon  the  throne. 

They  assembled  an  army  under  the  command  of  Count 


330  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

Kristofer  of  Oldenborg,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Liibeckers' 
fleet,  soon  produced  an  entirely  new  state  of  affairs  in 
Denmark.  The  count  landed  in  Sjeelland  on  June  22nd, 
1534,  Copenhagen  declared  for  Kristian  II.,  and  the 
castle  soon  afterwards  surrendered.  Eske  Bilde,  all 
unconscious  of  this  revolution,  arrived  at  this  moment  in 
Copenhagen  from  Bergen,  and  was  at  once  arrested,  and 
remained  a  prisoner  for  nearly  eighteen  months.  In 
a  very  short  time  Count  Kristofer  had  all  the  principal 
islands  and  the  province  of  Skaane  in  his  power,  and  Duke 
Kristian's  supporters  were  only  to  be  found  in  Jylland. 
They  were  now  forced  to  agree  among  themselves,  and, 
abandoning  Duke  Hans,  united  in  choosing  Kristian  as 
king.  Vincent  Lunge  (who,  having  travelled  by  land, 
escaped  the  fate  of  Eske  Bilde)  joined  Duke  Kristian's  party. 
The  contending  parties  in  Denmark  now  looked  to  Norway, 
and  felt  that  the  side  which  it  supported  would  gain  the 
upper  hand.  Now  that  Eske  Bilde  and  Vincent  Lunge 
were  absent,  Norway  practically  meant  Archbishop  Olaf, 
and  the  balance  of  power  now  lay  in  his  hands.  But  he 
failed  to  rise  to  the  occasion,  and  when  he  might  have 
acted  it  was  too  late.  Count  Kristofer  had  now  achieved 
his  greatest  success.  Gustavus  Vasa  joined  with  Duke 
Kristian  and  the  tide  began  to  turn  against  Kristofer. 
In  January,  1535,  a  defeat  at  Helsingborg  lost  him  the 
Danish  province  in  Sweden,  and,  Kristian  having  made  a 
successful  attack  on  Liibeck  a  short  time  before,  the 
Liibeckers  superseded  Count  Kristofer  and  appointed 
Albert  of  Mecklenburg  in  his  place.  Soon,  however,  the 
cause  of  Duke  Kristian  was  everywhere  successful  in 
Denmark,  and  the  struggle  known  as  the  Grevens  Feide  (the 
Count's  war)  came  to  an  end. 

"We  have  now  to  consider  the  position  of  affairs  in 
Norway.  During  the  quarrel  the  country  had  remained 
neutral,  and  Kristian  having  won,  his  supporters  were 


FREDERICK   COUNT  PALATINE.  331 

anxious  that  he  should  be  at  once  acknowledged  by  the 
Norwegian  Council.  In  February,  1535,  Duke  Kristian 
wrote  to  the  council,  but  no  decisive  step  was  taken.  The 
archbishop  called  a  Rigsmfide  for  May,  1535,  but  this  was 
first  postponed,  and  finally  never  met.  The  supporters  of 
Kristian  in  the  south  of  Norway  now  wished  to  force  the 
archbishop's  hand,  and  in  the  month  of  May  they  issued  a 
letter  or  manifesto,  signed  by  Vincent  Lunge,  the  bishops 
of  Oslo  and  Hamar,  and  the  chancellor,  Morten  Krabbe, 
accepting  Kristian  as  king,  provided  he  would  respect  all 
the  old  laws  and  customs  of  Norway.  This  they  dispatched 
to  the  archbishop,  hoping  to  secure  his  approval  and  that  of 
the  northern  members  of  the  council.  But  the  archbishop 
was  not  yet  ready  to  give  way,  and  a  new  candidate 
appeared  upon  the  scene. 

This  was  Frederick  the  Count  Palatine,  who  was  just 
about  to  marry  the  daughter  of  the  imprisoned  Kristian  II. 
As  Kristian' s  son  had  died  (in  August,  1532)  the  Emperor 
Charles  Y.  adopted  Frederick  as  a  candidate  to  represent 
his  unfortunate  brother-in-law.  The  emperor  wrote  to  the 
archbishop  from  Spain  in  April,  1535,  and  the  Count 
Palatine  also  from  Heidelberg  a  few  months  later;  but 
Frederick  lost  much  time  in  making  a  move,  and  then  his 
marriage,  which  took  place  in  September,  delayed  him  still 
longer.  To  these  communications  Archbishop  Olaf  adopted 
a  temporizing  attitude.  He  knew  that  the  count  and  the 
emperor  would  be  favourable  to  the  cause  of  the  Church, 
but  they  were  a  long  way  off,  and  Kristian  of  Denmark 
was  very  near  at  hand.  Meanwhile  Frederick  went  on 
with  his  preparations. 

Now  the  party  of  Kristian  felt  that  they  must  take  more 
decisive  steps  before  the  emperor  and  his  protege  should 
make  a  move.  Vincent  Lunge  and  his  friends  at  Oslo  had, 
as  we  have  seen,  formally  accepted  him  as  king,  and  were 
waiting  for  the  northern  chiefs  and  the  archbishop  to  agree. 


332  CHURCH  AND  STATE  IN  NORWAY. 

Kristian  now  sent  to  Norway  Klaus  Bilde  and  Eske  Bilde 
(who  had  been  just  released  from  prison)  with  instructions 
to  do  their  best  to  advance  his  cause.  Early  in  December 
they  reached  Oslo,  and  decided  at  once,  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  Vincent  Lunge,  who  wished  to  ignore  the 
archbishop,  to  proceed  to  Trondhjem.  Along  with  them 
went  Lunge  and  Hans  Beff,  the  bishop,  and,  after  being 
joined  en  route  by  the  bishop  of  Hamar,  the  party  came  to 
Trondhjem  at  Christmas,  1535. 

Before  we  advert  to  the  remarkable  events  connected 
with  this  meeting,  it  i»  well  to  mention  that  another 
leading  man  in  Norway  was  already  in  Trondhjem,  but 
not  of  his  own  free  will.  This  was  Nils  Lykke, 
Vincent  Lunge's  brother-in-law.  His  wife  Elina  having 
died  in  1532,  he  was  very  anxious  to  marry  his  deceased 
wife's  sister,  Lucie,  which  was,  of  course,  contrary  to 
the  law  both  of  Church  and  State.  He  appealed  to  the 
archbishop  in  order  to  get  the  necessary  dispensation;  but 
Olaf  temporized,  and  although  inclined  to  look  leniently  on 
the  offence,  yet  he  could  not  openly  approve  what  was  so 
entirely  contrary  to  the  Church's  law.  The  conduct  of 
Nils  Lykke  very  much  enraged  his  brother-in-law,  Vincent 
Lunge,  and  he  was  very  angry  with  the  archbishop  for  his 
failing  to  take  action  against  Lykke.  Meanwhile  the  latter 
wrote  to  his  friends  and  to  Duke  Kristian  for  their  support, 
but  received  no  encouragement.  He  had  been  living  with 
Lucie  as  his  wife,  and  she  bore  him  a  son  early  in  1535, 
who,  however,  only  lived  a  couple  of  months. 

Now  the  archbishop  began  to  discover — if  he  had  not 
known  it  before — that  Lykke  was  more  or  less  tainted  with 
Lutheranism,  and  would  favour  the  Danish  as  opposed  to 
the  Norwegian  national  party  ;  and  so,  to  bring  Vincent 
into  a  more  friendly  state  of  mind  towards  him,  he  caused 
Nils  Lykke  to  be  arrested  in  July,  1535,  and  imprisoned 
him  in  his  castle  at  Stenviksholm.  Next  month  he  was 


COUNCIL  AT  TRONDHJEM.  333 

accused  before  the  council  of  heresy  and  other  misdemea- 
nours, and  sentence  was  given  against  him.  The  penalty 
of  death  to  which  he  was  liable  was,  however,  not  then 
exacted,  and  he  remained  a  prisoner  in  the  archbishop's 
castle.  Under  these  circumstances  naturally  Nils  Lykke 
was  to  take  no  part  in  the  coming  council.  Another 
vacancy  was  caused  by  the  death  in  May,  1535,  of  Olaf 
Thorkildss0n,  the  weak  bishop  of  Bergen,  who,  after 
witnessing  the  destruction  of  his  cathedral  and  the  practical 
establishment  of  Lutheran  teaching  in  Bergen  in  1531,  took 
refuge  in  Voss,  and  remained  there  until  death  ended  his 
troubles.  No  new  election  was  made  immediately,  but 
afterwards  Geble  Pederss0n,  the  archdeacon,  was  elected, 
but  was  never  consecrated,  and  conformed  to  the  wishes  of 
the  king,  as  we  shall  see  later  on. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  the  Danish  king's 
representatives  and  the  other  leading  men,  met  at  Trondhjem 
in  the  last  days  of  December,  1535.  At  this  time  there 
seems  to  have  been  gathered  together  in  the  city  a  very 
large  number  of  the  principal  b0nder  of  Tr0ndelagen,  and 
although  the  famous  0re  Thing  of  the  ancient  days  was 
now  never  called  to  approve  of  the  choice  of  a  king,  it  would 
seem  that  some  of  the  old  spirit  lingered  among  the  b0nder. 
But  it  was  the  council,  with  all  its  officials  and  Danish 
noblemen,  who  now  chose  the  king  of  Norway  instead  of 
the  freemen  at  the  Thing.  When  the  council  met,  Yincent 
Lunge,  and  the  others  who  had  already  in  Oslo  decided  for 
Kristian  of  Denmark,  urged  his  election  by  the  assembly, 
and  further  demanded  the  payment  of  skat  to  him.  This 
claim  was  resisted  on  two  very  legitimate  grounds — first, 
that  the  king  had  not  formally  been  chosen ;  and,  secondly, 
that  no  payment  of  skat  could  be  claimed  until  the  king 
had  by  the  usual  manifesto  sworn  to  govern  according  to 
the  laws  of  Norway  and  to  preserve  inviolate  the  rights 
of  both  Church  and  State. 


334  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

It  would  now  appear  that  the  b0nder  in  Trondhjem 
appealed  to  the  archbishop  for  his  guidance,  and  he  seems 
to  have  called  a  meeting  of  them  at  the  palace,  and  there 
he  explained  matters  to  them  with  regard  to  the  proposed 
election  and  the  payment  of  skat.  It  is  hard  to  know  the 
exact  truth  of  what  followed,  but  it  would  seem  that  the 
people  clamoured  for  the  arrest  of  the  bishops  of  Oslo  and 
Hamar  and  Klaus  Bilde,  and  the  death  of  Vincent  Lunge 
and  the  chief  Danish  supporters  of  Kristian.  Bushing 
from  the  meeting  they  went  to  the  house  of  Vincent  Lunge, 
who  was  at  once  killed,*  and  Klaus  Bilde  and  Bishop  Hans 
Befl:  of  Oslo  narrowly  escaped  with  their  lives.  They  were, 
however,  arrested  by  the  archbishop,  and,  along  with  Eske 
Bilde,  placed  in  safe  keeping  at  Tautra.  It  is  very  hard  to 
know  how  far  the  archbishop  was  responsible  for  the 
murder  of  Vincent  Lunge.  The  later  Danish  writers  do 
not  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  accuse  him  of  it,  and  to  assert 
that  he  was  drunk  when  he  gave  an  order  for  his  death, 
but  had  endeavoured  to  recall  it  when  too  late.  The  most 
reasonable  supposition  seems  to  be,  that  there  was  a  genuine 
outbreak  of  the  people,  and  that  it  is  very  likely  they  were 
inflamed  by  the  speech  of  the  archbishop,  and,  although  he 
did  not  intend  them  to  do  so,  they  at  once  attacked  and 
killed  the  chief  man  of  the  unpopular  Danish  nobles,  who 
was  especially  hated  in  the  north.  Very  probably  the 
archbishop  intended  to  imprison  and  hold  as  hostages,  all 
the  chief  Danish  men  then  in  Trondhjem,  for  he  had,  but 
a  very  short  time  previously,  received  the  letters  from  the 
emperor  and  the  Count  Palatine,  announcing  the  pro- 
posed expedition  to  Norway,  and  the  new  candidate's 
prospects  would  be  vastly  improved  by  the  captivity  of 
all  the  leading  Danish  nobles  in  the  country.  It  was  a 

*  It  is  probable  that  Kristofer  Throndss0n  Rustung,  the  archbishop's 
principal  follower,  was  the  leader  in  the  attack  on  Vincent  Lunge  which 
ended  in  his  murder. 


ATTACK  ON  OSLO  AND  BERGEN.       335 

great  chance  for  the  Count  Palatine,  but  he  was  not  able 
to  avail  himself  of  it. 

Archbishop  Olaf  was  not  a  great  or  very  scrupulous  man, 
but  we  cannot  believe  that  he  would  have  permitted  the 
murder  of  his  chief  opponent  if  he  could  have  prevented  it. 
Another  crime  still  more  mysterious  was  laid  to  his  charge 
by  later  Danish  writers,  and  with  even  less  ground,  and  that 
was  the  death  of  Nils  Lykke,  who  was  said  to  have  been 
smothered  soon  after  Vincent  Lunge's  death  in  the  castle  of 
Stenviksholm.  The  circumstances  connected  with  his  death 
are  very  obscure,  and  there  seems  no  evidence  that  the 
archbishop  was  responsible  for  it.  As  Lykke  had  practically 
been  condemned  to  death,  there  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  much  sympathy  for  him,  either  amongst  Danes  or 
Norwegians. 

The  archbishop  had  now  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
burned  his  boats,  and  there  was  nothing  left  for  him  but  to 
do  his  best  on  behalf  of  the  Count  Palatine,  and  hope  for  his 
speedy  arrival  in  Norway.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy  the 
archbishop  sent  out  two  expeditions,  one  to  the  south  over 
the  Dovre  and  through  the  Oplands  to  Oslo,  and  the  other 
to  Bergen. 

The  object  of  the  first,  which  was  accompanied  by  the 
bishop  of  Hamar,  was  to  attack  and,  if  possible,  seize  the 
fortress  of  Akershus,  and  on  the  way  to  spread  the  news 
that  the  Count  Palatine  was  coming  with  a  powerful  force 
supplied  by  the  emperor.  The  governor  of  Akershus 
(Gyldenstjerne)  sent  off  in  haste  for  help  to  Kristian  in 
Denmark.  Meanwhile  he  was  able  to  hold  out,  and  the 
archbishop's  forces  had  to  retreat  in  March,  1536. 

The  expedition  to  Bergen,  which  was  under  the  command 
of  Kristof er  Throndss0n,  fared  still  worse.  Thord  Eoed,  who 
still  held  the  Bergenhus  (which  Eske  Bilde  had  placed  in 
his  hands),  was  warned  of  the  attack  and  induced  the 
people  of  the  town  to  accept  Kristian  III.  In  order  to 


336  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

strengthen  his  position  he  destroyed  the  great  monastery 
of  Munkeliv,^  on  Nordnses,  the  peninsula  which  formed 
one  side  of  the  harbour,  lest  it  should  be  used  (as  it 
might  probably  have  been)  as  a  fortress,  and  when 
Throndss0n  came  he  found  he  could  do  nothing.  He  then 
opened  negotiations  with  Eoed,  but  he  was  seized,  whilst 
under  promise  of  safe  conduct,  in  the  house  of  Geble 
Pederss0n,  the  bishop-elect,  and  sent  off  to  the  fortress  at 
Baahus. 

Thus  both  of  the  archbishop's  attempts  ended  in  failure, 
and  there  was  no  appearance  of  Frederick  the  Count  Palatine. 
Kristian  had  strengthened  his  position  very  much  by  making 
peace  with  the  Ltibeckers,  and  protecting  himself  on  the 
south,  while  he  pressed  forward  the  siege  of  Copenhagen, 
which  alone  held  out  against  him.  The  archbishop  now 
saw  that  his  best  course  was  to  try  and  make  terms  with 
Kristian.  He  accordingly  released  his  prisoners,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  negotiate  with  them  in  order  to  obtain  favourable 
terms.  To  this  they  were  willing  to  accede,  and  Klaus 
Bilde  promised  to  let  bygones  be  bygones,  if  the  arch- 
bishop would  agree  to  the  choice  of  Kristian  III. 

Klaus  Bilde  now  went  to  King  Kristian  and  con- 
veyed the  news  about  the  archbishop's  willingness  to 
surrender.  Kristian  was  still  vainly  endeavouring  to 
subdue  Copenhagen,  and  he  felt  that  time  was  pressing, 
for  the  Count  Palatine's  expedition  would  soon  be  ready 
to  start,  and  with  Copenhagen  unsubdued,  he  could  not 
safely  go  north.  He  therefore  was  apparently  very 
glad  to  find  that  the  archbishop  would  accept  him,  and 

*  After  the  Birgitta  order  had  been  driven  out,  the  cloister  was 
granted  to  Geble  Pederss0n,  who  resided  there.  Thord  Roed  asked  leave 
to  station  some  men  in  the  church  tower,  and  managed  to  convey  into 
it  some  barrels  of  tar,  which  were  set  on  fire,  and  the  great  buildings 
were  destroyed. — See  Lange's  Norske  Klostres  Historie,  pp.  313 — 315. 
No  traces  now  remain  of  this  famous  foundation,  which  stood  on  what 
is  now  an  open  space  called  Klostret. 


KRJSTIAN  III.  GENERALLY  ACCEPTED.  337 

agreed  to  a  meeting  being  held  in  Bergen  on  July  29th, 
at  which  the  archbishop  promised  to  be  present,  and 
Kristian  ordered  that  a  safe  conduct  should  be  issued  to 
him.  This  gathering,  however,  never  took  place,  and 
when  the  time  came  that  it  should  have  been  held, 
Kristian  III.  was  in  a  position  in  which  he  could  afford 
to  despise  the  archbishop,  and  proceed  with  his  plans  for 
making  an  end  of  the  ancient  constitution  both  of  Denmark 
and  Norway,  as  regards  the  Church. 

On  June  1st  the  bishop  of  Stavanger  (Hoskold  Eos- 
koldss0n),  Eske  Bilde,  Geble  Pederss0n  (the  bishop-elect 
of  Bergen),  and  others  issued  a  letter  in  which  they 
asserted  their  readiness  to  accept  Kristian  III.  as  king 
of  Norway,  and  thus  almost  all  the  country,  except  the 
north  and  part  of  the  Oplands,  proclaimed  its  willingness 
to  receive  the  Danish  monarch  as  its  king. 


C.S.N. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  CHURCH'S  DOWNFALL— LOSS  OF  NATIONAL 
INDEPENDENCE. 

The  Emperor  unable  to  help  Frederick  Count  Palatine—Copenhagen 
taken  by  Kristian  III. — Episcopacy  suppressed  in  Denmark,  and  the 
Property  of  the  Bishops  seized — The  Recess — Norway  made  a 
Province  of  Denmark — Archbishop  Olaf  sends  in  despair  to  Holland 
for  help — His  ignoble  flight  from  Trondhjem,  April  1st,  1537 — 
The  Bishop  of  Hamar  taken  a  Prisoner  to  Denmark — The  Bishop 
of  Stavanger  imprisoned — The  Bishop  of  Oslo  secures  the  King's 
favour  and  is  made  a  Superintendent — Conclusion. 

WE  now  come  to  the  day  which  saw  the  destruction  of 
the  ancient  Church  of  Norway  and  the  national  inde- 
pendence of  the  land.  Church  and  State,  which  had  been 
so  closely  connected  there,  more  so  perhaps  than  in  most 
countries  of  Europe,  were  now  to  lie  helpless  at  the  foot  of 
the  conqueror.  The  Church  founded  by  the  two  Olafs, 
and  which  had  flourished  so  vigorously  for  so  long  a  time, 
was  to  be  swept  away,  and  the  country  in  its  civil  aspect 
made  but  a  mere  province  of  Denmark. 

Events  moved  with  great  rapidity  after  June,  1536,  and 
it  is  little  less  than  amazing  the  way  in  which,  by  the  will 
of  one  man,  such  an  ecclesiastical  and  political  revolution 
could  have  taken  place. 

As  the  events  of  these  months  are  so  important,  it  is 
necessary  we  should  consider  them  in  detail. 

We  have  seen  how  in  the  early  months  of  the  year  1536 
Archbishop  Olaf,  after  the  failure  of  his  attacks  on  both 
Akershus  and  Bergen,  was  convinced  that  no  aid  was  to 
be  expected  from  the  Count  Palatine  and  the  Emperor 
Charles  Y.,  and  so  decided  to  make  the  best  terms  he  could 


COPENHAGEN  SURRENDERS.         339 

with  Kristian  III.  But  matters  were  not  at  the  moment 
in  such  a  desperate  condition  with  respect  to  the  count. 
Indeed,  but  for  an  unforeseen  event,  he  might  have  arrived 
in  Norway  with  a  very  formidable  force,  and  have  com- 
pletely changed  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs.  Unfortunately 
for  the  count,  however,  the  outbreak  of  a  war  between 
Francis  I.  of  France  and  the  emperor,  and  a  sudden  attack 
of  the  Duke  of  Guelderland,  disconcerted  the  emperor's 
plans  for  assisting  his  nephew,  and  the  forces  which  had 
been  collected  for  the  invasion  of  Norway  were  required 
elsewhere.  A  fleet  of  twenty  -  five  ships  had  been 
assembled  in  the  Netherlands,  but  was  useless,  as  there 
were  no  men  ready  to  embark. 

Kristian  III.  now  saw  that  if,  in  this  emergency,  he 
could  recover  Copenhagen  his  position  would  be  secure. 
He  accordingly  redoubled  his  efforts  to  capture  the 
town.  The  inhabitants,  left  without  help  from  the 
emperor,  were  at  last  forced  to  yield.  On  July  29th 
(the  feast  of  the  patron  saint  of  Norway)  the  town 
capitulated,  and  Kristian  had  thus  the  whole  of  Denmark 
under  his  rule. 

In  Norway  the  archbishop  was  in  despair;  his  only 
chance  of  succour  seemed  to  have  failed  him,  and  as  a 
last  hope  he  dispatched  his  trusty  Kristofer  Throndss0n* 
to  the  Netherlands,  to  see  if  there  was  any  prospect  of 

*  Throndss0n  or  Rustling,  after  the  archbishop's  death,  was  taken  into 
the  king's  favour.  His  daughter  Anna  was  married  or  betrothed  to 
Earl  Bothwell,  who  met  her  in  Copenhagen  in  1560,  but  he  deserted  her 
in  the  Netherlands.  Later,  in  1563,  she  followed  him  to  Scotland, 
remaining  at  the  Court  until  1565,  when  she  went  to  Norway.  On 
Bothwell's  flight  from  Scotland  he  was  driven  by  storm  to  Norway, 
and  taken  a  prisoner  to  Bergen.  Here  Anna  called  him  to  account 
for  his  conduct  towards  her,  and  he  had  to  give  her  a  ship,  and  under- 
took to  pay  her  a  sum  of  money.  Bothwell  was  then  taken  to 
Denmark,  where  he  died  in  prison.  Anna  lived  for  a  long  time  after- 
wards at  Seim,  in  Kvindherred,  where  she  was  known  as  Skottefrwn,  from 
her  connection  with  Earl  Bothwell. 

22 


340  CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

help  from  that  quarter.  The  position  of  the  primate  was 
indeed  a  difficult  one.  There  was  only  one  of  his 
suffragans  who  could  be  said  to  be  on  his  side.  The 
bishop  of  Oslo  had  agreed  to  recognize  Kristian,  so  had 
the  bishop  of  Stavanger.  The  see  of  Bergen  was  vacant, 
but  the  man  who  had  been  chosen  by  the  chapter,  was  an 
open  ally  of  the  Danish  monarch.  Only  the  bishop  of  Hamar 
was  ready  to  aid  the  archbishop,  but  he  possessed  little 
influence  outside  his  own  immediate  district.  Had  Arch- 
bishop Olaf  been  a  man  of  greater  power  and  force  of 
character,  and  one  who  had  made  himself  loved  and 
respected,  he  might  still  have  rallied  the  bulk  of  the  clergy 
and  people  to  his  side ;  but  he  was  not  the  man  to  head  a 
great  national  movement,  even  had  one  been  possible  at 
this  time.  His  vacillation  in  moments  when  he  should 
have  stood  firm,  his  alternate  oaths  of  allegiance  to  different 
kings,  and  his  inability  to  rule  in  the  high  office  which  he 
held  both  in  Church  and  State,  left  Norway  defenceless  and 
without  a  champion  of  her  rights. 

Now  that  Copenhagen  had  fallen,  and  the  attention  of 
the  emperor  had  been  diverted  by  the  war  with  France, 
Kristian  felt  himself  secure.  He  knew  but  too  well  that 
Norway  was  at  his  mercy;  all  the  strongholds  of  the 
country — Baahus,  Akershus,  and  Bergenhus — were  in  his 
power ;  all  the  chief  men  were  on  his  side,  and  he  could 
afford  to  delay  crushing  the  only  antagonist  he  had  left — 
Archbishop  Olaf. 

How  far  Kristian  III.  was  sincere  in  his  zeal  for 
Lutheranism  it  is  hard  to  determine.  He  had  been,  for 
some  years  before  his  father's  death,  a  supporter  of  the 
Lutheran  preachers  in  the  country,  and  possibly  may  have 
had  a  genuine  belief  in  their  tenets;  and  at  any  rate 
it  cannot  be  said  of  him  that  he  had  ever  given  a  solemn 
assurance,  as  his  father  had  done,  to  suppress  the  teaching 
of  the  German  reformer ;  but  his  action  now  left  him  open 


THE   COUP  D'ETAT  AT  COPENHAGEN.  341 

to  the  charge  of  professing  such  opinions,  in  order  to  enrich 
himself  and  his  followers. 

He  now  determined  on  a  bold  stroke,  which  would  destroy 
for  ever  the  power  of  the  Church  in  Denmark,  and  over- 
turn the  ancient  ecclesiastical  order  of  that  kingdom. 

When  Copenhagen  fell  into  his  hands,  he  found  that 
his  troops  were  clamouring  for  their  pay,  and  that  his 
treasury  was  an  empty  one.  Money  must  be  found  to 
satisfy  these  demands,  and  the  nobility  were  not  likely  to 
be  able  to  afford  him  the  necessary  assistance.  In  this 
emergency  he  decided  to  seize  the  episcopal  revenues— for 
the  bishops  also  declined  to  help — and  to  transfer  them  to 
the  royal  coffers.  On  August  llth  he  called  together 
a  meeting  of  his  principal  officers,  and  there  unfolded  to 
them  his  plans,  which  at  any  rate  had  the  merit  of 
simplicity.  It  was  simply  this — to  arrest  all  the  bishops 
he  could  lay  his  hands  on,  and  to  annex  the  property 
of  their  sees.  The  officers  readily  fell  in  with  this 
suggestion,  and  by  breakfast  time  the  next  morning  the 
bishops  of  Skaane,  Sjeelland,  and  Eibe,  were  taken  prisoners 
and  placed  in  the  castle.  Kristian  then  called  together 
the  lay  members  of  the  council,  and  they  were  forced 
to  agree  to  the  king's  plans.*  They  signed  a  declaration 
in  which  it  was  announced  that  for  the  future  the 
government  of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  should  not  depend 
upon  "  either  archbishop  or  other  bishops,  but  the  govern- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  shall  be  and  remain, 
with  his  royal  Majesty  and  his  successors,  kings  in 
Denmark,  and  with  the  temporal  council  of  the  kingdom, 
and  with  their  successors.'7  The  council  further  pledged 
themselves,  that  no  bishop  hereafter  should  have  any  part 

*  An  interesting  account  of  these  proceedings  has  survived  in  a  letter 
written  by  Johan  Pein,  a  Prussian  admiral  in  the  service  of  Kristian, 
to  Duke  Albert  of  Prussia. — See  C.  Paludan-Miiller's  Deflrste  Konger 
af  den  Oldenborgske  tilcegt,  p.  620. 


342  CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

in  the  government  of  the  country,  unless  it  was  with  the 
consent  of  the  general  council  of  the  Church  in  Germany 
and  elsewhere. 

In  order  to  give  the  appearance  of  a  religious  movement 
to  this  scandalous  military  coup  d'etat,  it  was  further 
added  that  they  would  not  oppose  "the  right  preaching 
of  the  Holy  Gospel  and  the  pure  "Word  of  God." 

The  desire  of  the  king  for  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel 
was  seen,  by  his  at  once  arresting  the  archbishop  of  Lund, 
Torben  Bilde,  and  the  Bishop  of  Koskilde,  and  in  a  month's 
time  every  bishop  in  Denmark  had  been  cast  into  prison. 

Having  thus  accomplished  a  revolution,  the  king  pro- 
ceeded to  make  the  Rigsdag,  or  diet  of  the  country,  assent 
to  his  action.  It  met  in  Copenhagen  on  the  15th  of 
October,  1536,  and  lasted  for  fifteen  days.  The  result  was 
the  issue  of  two  documents  of  the  very  first  importance — 
the  Eoyal  Manifesto  and  the  "  General  Becess,"  or  statute — 
and  they  set  forth  plainly  what  was  to  be  the  new  policy 
both  with  respect  to  the  State  and  the  Church. 

The  manifesto  was  shorter  than  those  usually  issued  by 
the  Danish  kings,  but  the  omissions  were  very  significant. 
All  the  usual  promises  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  Church 
and  the  privileges  of  the  bishops  and  clergy  were  left  out, 
and  in  place  of  them  we  find  these  words :  "  We  will  and 
shall,  above  all  things,  love  and  worship  Almighty  God 
and  His  holy  Word  and  doctrine,  strengthen,  increase, 
advance,  maintain,  protect  and  defend  it,  to  the  honour 
of  God  and  to  the  increase  of  the  holy  Christian  faith." 
It  was  clear  from  this  that  Kristian  intended  to  proceed  in 
the  ecclesiastical  revolution  which  he  had  initiated  in  the 
month  of  August,  and  that  the  measure  which  was  meted 
to  the  bishops  in  Denmark  would  very  soon  be  extended 
to  Norway. 

But  what  followed  in  the  manifesto  showed  also  that 
the  king  intended  not  merely  to  overturn  the  Church  in 


THE  COPENHAGEN  MANIFESTO.  343 

Norway,  but  that  he  made  up  his  mind  to  crush  out  all 
semblance  of  national  independence  as  well.     The  third 
article  of  the  manifesto  states,  that  "  because  the  kingdom 
of  Norway  is  now  so  bereft  of  power  and  wealth,  and 
the  people  of  the  kingdom  of  Norway  are  not  able  alone  to 
support  a  lord  and  king  for  themselves,  and  this  same 
kingdom  is  yet  bound  to  remain  for  ever  with  the  crown  of 
Denmark,  and  most  of  the  council  of  the  kingdom  of  Norway, 
especially  Archbishop  Olaf ,  who  is  now  the  greatest  man  in 
the  kingdom,  within  a  short  time  has  twice,  with  the  most 
part  of  the  council  of  Norway,  fallen  from  the  kingdom  of 
Denmark,    contrary   to   their   plighted   faith.     We   have 
therefore  promised  and  vowed  to  the  council  and  nobles  of 
the  kingdom  of  Denmark  that,  if  God  Almighty  so  ordain 
it,   that   this   same   kingdom  of   Norway,   or   any  of  its 
dependencies,  castles,  or  districts,  should  fall  under  our 
authority,  or  be  conquered  by  us,  so  shall  they  hereafter  be 
and  remain,  under  the  crown  of  Denmark,  as  are  one  of 
these  other  countries,  Jylland,  Fyen,  Sjaelland,  or  Skaane, 
and  not  hereafter  be  or  be  called  a  separate  kingdom,  but  a 
dependency  of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark,  and  under  its 
crown  always.    But  if  any  strife  should  arise  from  this,  the 
council  and  people  of  the  kingdom  of  Denmark  shall  be 
bound  faithfully  to  help  to  support  us  in  it.' '* 

Thus  by  one  stroke  was  the  ancient  independence  of 
Norway  swept  away,  and  its  liberties  ruthlessly  disre- 
garded. 

The  other  document,  the  "  General  Becess,"  is,  from  an 
ecclesiastical  point  of  view,  of  course,  the  most  important, 
for  it  meant  the  utter  subversion  of  the  ancient  Church  in 
Denmark  and  the  substitution  of  the  king's  "  evangelical 
superintendents  "  in  the  place  of  the  bishops. 

This  document  begins  by  stating  that  the  late  dissensions 
were  caused  by  the  bishops  not  agreeing  with  the  nobles, 
*  C.  Paludan-Miiller,  as  before,  p.  628. 


344  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

and  because  they  had  refused  to  join  with  them  in  the 
election  of  Kristian  III. 

The  bishops  were  to  be  replaced  by  evangelical  super- 
intendents, who  were  to  teach  the  Gospel  to  the  people. 
Any  person  opposing  this  order  was  to  be  punished  by  loss 
of  life  and  property.  The  revenue  of  the  various  sees  was 
to  be  confiscated  to  the  crown,  and  all  rights  of  patronage 
(except  that  possessed  by  the  nobles)  were  to  pass  to  the 
king.  The  cloisters  were  to  remain  untouched  for  the 
present,  until  the  king  and  the  nobles  decided  their  fate, 
and  the  occupants  to  be  unmolested,  but  free  to  leave. 

Tithes  were  still  to  exist,  and  were  to  be  thus  allocated — 
one-third  for  the  parish  priest,  one-third  for  the  Church, 
and  one-third  for  the  king,  (who  out  of  them  was  to  pay 
the  new  evangelical  superintendents),  and  for  the  keeping 
up  of  the  schools. 

Such  was  the  import  of  this  document,  which  was  a 
wholesale  measure  of  confiscation  of  the  Church's  property, 
and  which  necessarily  involved  the  complete  separation  of 
the  Church  in  Denmark  from  the  rest  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  It  will  be  noted  that  it  was  the  king  who  was 
the  principal  gainer  by  this  act,  and  also  that  it  seems  to 
have  been  aimed  mostly  at  the  bishops,  whose  existence  as 
an  order  in  the  Church  was  terminated,  and  whose  incomes 
were  swept  into  the  royal  treasury,  for  doubtless  the  new 
superintendents  were  provided  with  very  different  incomes 
from  that  of  the  bishops  in  the  olden  days. 

In  this  "Becess"  no  mention  was  made  of  Norway,  but  as 
soon  as  its  terms  were  known,  it  was  plain  to  the  Norwegian 
prelates,  the  treatment  which  was  in  store  for  them ;  and 
it  was  clear  that  unless  help  came  from  the  Count  Palatine 
and  the  emperor,  the  days  of  the  Church  of  St.  Olaf  were 
numbered.  In  October  Kristofer  Throndss0n  came  back 
from  his  errand  to  Holland,  and  with  him  four  ships ;  but 
these  were  filled  with  neither  men  nor  money,  and  were 


ARCHBISHOP  OLAF  FLIES  FROM  NORWAY.       345 

only  sent  in  order  to  provide  the  archbishop  with  a  means 
of  escape  when  all  hope  was  lost.  When  he  learned  that 
Frederick's  expedition  was  not  ready  to  start,  the  arch- 
bishop made  one  last  appeal  for  aid,  but  in  this  case,  his 
trusting  for  the  help  of  the  count  or  the  emperor,  was  like 
trusting  "upon  the  staff  of  a  bruised  reed,"  for  the  help 
never  came. 

Kristian  III.  contented  himself  with  directing  Eske 
Bilde  to  seize  the  revenues  of  the  vacant  see  of  Bergen 
and  use  them  in  the  same  way  as  in  Denmark.  Thus 
matters  remained  for  the  winter  of  1536 — 7;  the  Church 
lay  powerless  before  the  king  and  his  nobles,  who  only 
waited  for  the  advent  of  spring  to  come  and  spoil  their 
prey.  During  the  winter  months  Eske  Bilde's  men  had 
driven  the  archbishop's  adherents  out  of  S0ndm0re  and 
Eomsdal,  but  want  of  both  men  and  money  prevented  their 
following  them  up  to  Trondhjem. 

Kristian,  to  make  all  secure,  before  sending  his  forces 
north,  managed  to  arrange  a  truce  with  the  emperor  for 
three  years,  from  May,  1537,  and  in  this  agreement  a  special 
clause  was  inserted,  to  provide  for  the  safety  of  the 
Norwegian  primate ;  but  this  was  not  needed. 

The  last  archbishop  of  Nidaros  now  saw  that  nothing 
could  save  the  situation.  There  was  no  help  to  be  had  from 
any  quarter.  His  two  expeditions  had  been  failures,  and  all 
the  strongholds  of  Norway  were  in  the  enemy's  hands.  It- 
would  be  perhaps  unfair  to  judge  Archbishop  Olaf  harshly 
at  this  moment,  but  he  was  not  the  man,  unfortunately,  for 
the  time  in  which  he  was  called  to  rule.  He  had  no  one 
to  support  him,  and  there  seemed  no  alternative  but  flight. 
The  ships  which  had  been  sent  from  the  Netherlands  were 
lying  at  Trondhjem;  into  these  the  archbishop  collected 
all  the  treasures  he  could  find  of  the  cathedral  and  other 
churches,  as  well  as  the  archives  of  the  kingdom,  and,  going 
on  board,  set  sail  on  April  1st,  1537. 


346  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

He  was  not  the  only  archbishop  who  had  fled  from 
Trondhjem,  or  Nidaros  of  the  olden  days,  but  Olaf 
Engelbrektss0n  was  a  very  different  type  of  man  from  Arch- 
bishop Ey stein,  or  even  Erik  or  Jon  Eaude.  The  faith 
and  order  of  the  Church  was  not  in  question  in  their  days, 
as  it  was  in  1537,  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  either 
Catholic  or  Lutheran,  it  would  have  been  a  nobler  thing  if 
the  head  of  the  Norwegian  Church  had  stood  bravely  at  his 
post,  and  awaited  in  his  cathedral  city,  the  day  when  he 
would  have  been  called  upon  to  endure  imprisonment,  and 
the  loss  of  all  his  earthly  possessions,  in  obedience  to  the 
mandate  of  the  Danish  king.  It  was  not  until  May  1st 
that,  after  a  long  and  weary  voyage,  Archbishop  Olaf 
arrived  safely  in  the  Netherlands.  He  had  left  a  garrison 
in  his  castle  at  Stenviksholm ;  but  within  a  few  weeks  of 
the  archbishop's  flight  Thord  Eoed  from  Bergen  reached 
Trondhjem,  and  the  castle  soon  after  surrendered,  and 
with  it  the  last  shadow  of  opposition  to  the  Danish  king 
vanished  from  Norway. 

Kristian  III.  had  a  force  ready  to  leave  Denmark  for 
Norway  as  soon  as  the  winter  was  over,  and  it  started 
from  Copenhagen  in  April,  and  reached  Bergen  on  May 
1st,  the  very  day  the  archbishop  arrived  in  the  Netherlands. 
Here  it  was  joined  by  Eske  Bilde,  who  then  with  it  pro- 
ceeded to  Trondhjem,  and  received  over  the  archbishop's 
castle  at  Stenviksholm. 

No  time  was  now  lost  in  coercing  any  who  remained 
faithful  to  the  old  state  of  things.  Trondhjem  having 
been  subdued,  and  the  archbishop  having  fled,  the  next 
attack  was  on  the  bishop  of  Hamar.  He  had  been,  as  we 
have  seen,  one  of  the  most  zealous  supporters  of  Kristian  II. 
in  his  unlucky  campaign,  and  had  been  heavily  fined 
in  consequence ;  he  was  also  a  supporter  of  the  Count 
Frederick.  After  Stenviksholm  had  surrendered,  Truid 
Ulfstand,  who  commanded  the  force  sent  from  Denmark, 


ARREST   OF  THE   BISHOP   OF   HAMAR.  347 

left  Trondhjem  and  went  at  once  to  Hamar.  The  bishop 
had  determined  to  make  a  strong  resistance,  and  had 
prepared  his  palace  for  a  siege ;  but  at  the  last  his  courage 
failed  him,  when  he  saw  the  force  which  Ulfstand  had 
brought  with  him,  and  after  an  interview  with  the  Danish 
commander  he  agreed  to  surrender.  On  June  23rd  he 
was  led  away  a  prisoner.  "We  have  a  truly  pathetic  account 
of  the  departure  of  the  last  bishop  of  Hamar  from  his  home 
by  one  who  witnessed  it : — 

"As  Herr  Truid  and  the  bishop  went  together  to 
Strandbakken,  he  fell  on  his  knees  and  thanked  God  in 
heaven  for  every  day  he  had  lived.  Then  he  bid  good- 
night to  the  canons  and  the  priests,  then  to  his  cathedral 
and  cloister,  then  to  his  chief  men,  to  the  common  people, 
both  townsmen  and  b0nder,  entreating  them  all  to  pray 
heartily  for  him,  and  said  he  hoped  he  would  soon  come 
to  them  again.  But  added,  c  0  God  our  Heavenly  Father, 
if  not  before,  grant  that  we  may  meet  one  another  in 
heaven.'  This  prayer  he  uttered  with  many  tears  and 
added,  <  Yale !  Vale !  Vale  ! '  "  * 

The  old  bishop  never  saw  Hamar  again.  He  was  taken 
to  Denmark  and  kept  as  a  semi-prisoner  at  Antvorskov 
cloister,  where  he  died  in  1543. 

There  were  two  more  bishops  still  left.  Bishop 
Hoskoldss0n  of  Stavanger  had  the  year  before,  along  with 
Eske  Bilde  and  others,  approved  of  the  election  of  Kristian 
III.  He  was  a  timid  man,  and  hoped  by  this  to  avert  the 
hostility  of  the  king  against  all  members  of  the  episcopate. 
Through  Eske  Bilde  he  sent  Kristian  a  present  of  a  silver 
bowl,  and  as  long  as  he  (Bilde)  remained  in  power  the 
bishop  was  left  alone.  But  the  year  after  he  seems  to  have 
been  imprisoned  by  Thord  Eoed  in  Bergen,  where  he  soon 
afterwards  died. 

*  From  a  description  of  Hamar  in  "  Thaarup's  Magazin,"  quoted  by 
Bang,  p.  359. 


348  CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

The  remaining  bishop  was  Hans  Beff  of  Oslo.  "We  have 
seen  what  sort  of  a  man  he  was,  time-serving  and  crafty, 
and  always  ready  to  make  the  best  terms  he  conld  with  the 
winning  side.  He  had  already  accepted  Kristian,  but  in  spite 
of  this  he  was  carried  to  Denmark  by  Ulfstand,  after  he 
had  seized  the  bishop  of  Hamar.  When  in  Denmark  Hans 
Keff  used  his  time  well.  Being  not  overburdened  by  any 
special  religious  convictions,  he  was  able  to  assure  King 
Kristian,  of  his  zeal  for  Lutheran  doctrines,  and,  what  was 
even  of  more  importance  to  the  king,  he  was  ready  to  make 
a  complete  surrender  of  all  the  temporalities  of  his  see  into 
the  king's  hands,  and  then  offered  to  Kristian  and  his  heirs, 
"  as  he  valued  '  his  souPs  salvation,'  true  and  faithful 
allegiance  for  all  time  to  come." 

Under  these  circumstances  the  king  saw  fit  to  reinstate 
him  as  bishop  or  evangelical  superintendent,  of  the  diocese 
of  Oslo,  and  further,  to  show  his  zeal  for  "  God's  pure 
Word,"  the  king  added  to  Oslo  (already  a  full  burden  for 
one  man)  the  diocese  of  Hamar,  which  had  been  left  without 
a  chief  pastor.  Hans  Eeff  did  not  remain  long  in  his  new 
capacity  as  Lutheran  superintendent;  he  died  in  the 
summer  of  1545,  and  next  year  we  find  a  new  man, 
Anders  Matson,  in  his  office. 

There  is  only  one  more  diocese  of  which  we  must 
speak,  namely,  Bergen.  We  have  seen  that  after  Olaf 
Thorkildss0n's  death  in  1535  the  archdeacon  Geble 
Pederss0n  was  chosen  as  his  successor.  This  man  was  of 
a  good  family  in  Norway,  and  had  studied  in  Alkmar  and 
Lou  vain,  where  he  met  Vincent  Lunge.  In  1523  he  was 
in  Eome,  where  he  remained  for  some  time,  and  was  very 
indignant  at  the  abuses  which  he  saw  every  where  in  that  city. 
He  seems  to  have  always  been  favourable  to  the  principles 
of  the  Eeformation,  and  when  the  king  decided  to  have  his 
own  kind  of  bishops  he  was  quite  willing  to  accept  the 
nominee  of  the  Bergen  chapter  to  act  as  bishop  of  that 


I    i" 

<     "c 

10) 
(-1 


DEATH   OF  ARCHBISHOP  OLAF.  349 

important  diocese.  In  1537  Pederss0n  went  to  Denmark, 
where  Bugenhagen  had  come  in  order  to  "  consecrate"  the 
new  Danish  superintendents  who  were  to  take  the  place  of 
the  imprisoned  bishops.  By  him  Geble  Pederss0n  was  set 
apart  for  the  management  of  the  Bergen  diocese,  and,  for  a 
time,  for  that  of  Stavanger  as  well.  We  are  told  he  was 
the  only  one  of  those  thus  set  apart  by  Bugenhagen,  who 
made  him  a  gift  afterwards.  Pederss0n's  offering  was  a 
substantial  present  of  wine,  and  the  famous  Lutheran 
on  accepting  it,  exclaimed,  "  Nonne  decem  mundati  sunt,  et 
nemo  reversus  est,  nisi  hie  alienigena."^  Geble  Pederss0n 
lived  until  1557,  when  he  died  in  Bergen. 

Thus  the  ancient  Church  of  Norway  lay  helpless  and 
wounded  at  the  feet  of  her  conqueror,  who  for  the  sake  u  of 
the  Holy  Gospel  and  the  pure  Word  of  God"  (as  he  expressed 
it  at  the  time  of  the  coup  tfetat)  had  imprisoned  or  driven 
away  her  bishops  and  seized  on  her  revenues.  Her  natural 
leaders  failed  her  in  the  hour  of  her  trial,  and  among  the 
general  body  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  there  was  no  one 
ready  or  able  to  strike  a  blow  on  behalf  of  the  Church  of 
St.  Olaf  and  Eystein. 

Archbishop  Olaf  did  not  long  survive  his  exile.  In  May, 
1537,  he  came  to  Brussels.  By  the  truce  concluded  between 
the  emperor  and  Kristfan  III.  the  personal  safety  of  the 
archbishop  was  secured,  and  he  retired  to  Lierre,  in  Brabant. 
Kristian  made  claims  upon  him  for  the  treasures  both  of  the 
State  and  the  Church,  which  he  had  carried  away  with  him 
in  his  flight  from  Trondhjem,  and  the  family  of  Nils  Lykke 
demanded  an  account  of  certain  valuables  of  which  they 
alleged  the  archbishop  had  charge.  The  latter  he  admitted, 
but  before  restitution  was  made,  Olaf  Engelbrektss0n,  the 
twenty-seventh  and  last  archbishop  of  Nidaros,  had  passed 
away.  On  March  7th,  1538,  he  died  at  Lierre. 

*  "Norske  Samlinger,"  Vol.  I.,  quoted  by  Nissen,  p.  222,  and 
L.  Daae's  G&istliges  Kaldelse. 


350  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

We  have  seen  the  fate  which  befell  the  other  members  of 
the  episcopate  in  the  Norwegian  Church ;  exile,  or  imprison- 
ment and  death,  had  been  their  portion,  with  the  one  ignoble 
exception  of  the  time-serving  Hans  Beff.  The  historic 
episcopate  which  had  come  to  Norway,  first  from  England, 
was  lost  for  ever,  and  a  Lutheran  establishment  took  the 
place  of  the  ancient  Catholic  Church  of  Norway. 

Having  gained  their  purpose  and  seized  on  the  property 
of  the  Church,  the  Danish  kings  showed  little  anxiety  to 
promote  the  spread  of  the  doctrines  of  Luther,  and  for  a 
generation  or  more,  so  far  as  they  were  concerned,  Norway 
might  have  relapsed  into  heathenism.  The  new  evangelical 
superintendents  were  named  to  carry  on  the  oversight  of 
the  ancient  bishoprics,  but  even  with  the  best  intentions 
on  their  part,  they  were  practically  helpless.  The  old 
priests  of  the  Catholic  Church  were  left,  as  a  rule,  undis- 
turbed in  their  parishes  during  their  lifetime,  and  when 
they  passed  away,  untrained  and  untaught  Lutheran  pastors, 
often  men  of  very  indifferent  character,  were  placed  in 
charge  of  their  parishes.  The  new  superintendents  in 
many  instances  did  their  best  to  remedy  this  state  of  things 
by  establishing  Latin  schools,  where  the  future  clergy 
might  be  trained,  and  gradually  they  succeeded  in  sending 
faithful  men  among  the  people.  But  in  the  evil  days 
which  followed  upon  the  events  of  1537,  many  of  those  who 
were  sent  to  minister  to  the  people  were  unworthy  of 
their  calling,  and  the  records  of  the  times  tell  of  frequent 
conflicts  between  them  and  the  b0nder,  which  in  more 
than  one  instance  ended  in  bloodshed. 

It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
in  the  days  of  Kristian  IV.,  who  seems  to  have  had  a 
genuine  regard  for  the  welfare  of  his  Norwegian  subjects, 
that  something  of  the  old  religious  instincts  revived  among 
the  people  of  Norway,  and  efforts  were  made  to  again 
beautify  the  churches,  and  to  supply  them  with  suitable 


CONCLUSION.  351 

ornaments  and  plate,  in  the  place  of  what  had  been  either 
devoted  to  the  cost  of  Kristian  II.'s  expedition,  or  pillaged 
by  the  orders  of  Kristian  III. 

We  have  now  traced  the  history  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church  in  Norway,  its  foundation,  vigorous  growth,  decline, 
and  fall.  To  English  people  its  history  cannot  fail  to  be 
of  interest,  as  from  England  mainly  came  its  first  teachers 
and  bishops,  and  its  two  great  kingly  "  nursing  fathers  " 
were  so  intimately  associated  with  the  Christianity  of  the 
British  Isles.  Had  that  connection  with  England,  which 
was  so  close  in  the  end  of  the  tenth  and  the  whole  of  the 
eleventh  centuries,  been  maintained,  and  Oxford  or 
Cambridge,  instead  of  Eostock  and  Copenhagen,  been  later 
on,  the  universities  of  the  Norwegian  bishops  and  priests, 
then  it  might  have  been  that  the  Eeformation  would  have 
followed  on  the  lines  of  the  English  Church,  and  not  that 
of  Northern  Germany.  Eut  events  determined  otherwise, 
and  the  loss  of  the  historic  episcopate  snapped  asunder  the 
link  which  bound  Norway  to  the  Church  in  which  Olaf 
Trygvess0n  had  been  baptized  and  confirmed,  and  from 
which  the  great  missionary  bishops  of  his  day,  and  of 
St.  Olaf  s,  derived  their  orders.  From  henceforth  they 
drifted  asunder,  after  centuries  of  close  intercourse  and 
communion. 

As  it  was  with  the  Church,  so  was  it  with  the  State.  Its 
consolidation  coincided  very  closely  with  the  introduction 
of  Christianity,  and  at  first  both  grew  together,  in  the 
closest  and  most  intimate  union.  It  is  true  that  later  on, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  same  fierce  battle  between  them,  which 
was  fought  out  in  other  nations,  was  also  waged  in  Norway. 
The  days  of  Haakon  Haakonss0n,  in  which  Norway 
reached  the  zenith  of  its  power  as  a  sovereign  State,  was 
also  the  commencement  of  the  Church's  greatest  prosperity, 
and  in  the  disastrous  year  of  1537,  both  Church  and  State 
were  involved  in  a  common  ruin. 


352  CHURCH  AND   STATE   IN  NORWAY. 

In  Norway,  Church  and  State  were  perhaps  more  closely 
associated  than  in  any  country  in  Europe.  In  the  period 
before  the  hereditary  succession  to  the  crown  was  finally 
established,  the  bishops  had  the  preponderating  voice  in 
the  choice  of  the  king ;  and  the  primate  not  merely  ranked 
next  to  the  king  as  in  other  lands,  but  when  the  throne 
was  vacant,  the  archbishop  was  ex-officio  ruler  of  the  country 
until  a  new  monarch  was  chosen. 

From  1537  onwards  a  dull  lethargy  crept  over  the  land, 
and  lasted  for  well-nigh  three  hundred  years,  until  the  old 
spirit  of  freedom  was  breathed  once  more  upon  the  dry 
bones  of  Norway's  nationality,  and  it  again  stood  upon  its 
feet,  and  claimed  its  place  as  a  sovereign  and  independent 
State,  among  the  nations  of  Europe. 

We  cannot  better  close  our  history  than  by  quoting 
the  words  of  one  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  almost 
irreparable  injury  inflicted  on  his  native  land,  by  the 
revolutionary  changes  brought  about  by  Kristian  III. 
and  his  followers. 

Absalon  Pederss0n*  wrote  (some  thirty  years  after  the 
events  we  have  last  narrated)  in  his  "Norges  Beskrivelse  " 
these  sad  but  true  words  : — 

"  The  churches  and  cloisters  which  our  forefathers  built 
we  have  pulled  down  and  destroyed  ;  there  where  our  fore- 
fathers led  out  to  battle  twenty  thousand  men  we  can  only 
bring  two  thousand.  Our  forefathers  continually  made 
warlike  or  mercantile  expeditions  to  other  lands,  whilst 
to-day  no  one  will  venture  from  the  town  or  district  in 
which  he  was  born.  From  the  day  when  Norway  fell 
under  Denmark,  it  lost  the  strength  and  power  of  its  man- 
hood, and  became  old  and  grey-headed  and  a  burden  to 
itself.  Yet  a  day  may  come  when  Norway  may  once  more 
awake  from  sleep,  if  a  ruler  is  vouchsafed  to  it,  for  in  the 

*  He  was  a  native  of  Sogn,  and  chaplain  of  the  Castle  in  Bergen, 
and  a  lecturer  in  Theology. 


CONCLUSION.  353 

nation  there  is  still  surviving  some  of  the  old  manhood  and 
strength." 

The  patriotic  Norwegian  did  not  live  to  see  the  awaken- 
ing he  longed  for.  It  was  not  for  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  years  after  he  wrote  these  words,  that  the  long,  long 
sleep  was  ended  and  the  new  life  began. 


C.S.N.  A  A 


APPENDIX  I. 


"SIGEFRIDUS  NORWEGENSIS  EPISCOPUS." 

THE  identity  of  this  man  has  heen  the  subject  of  considerable 
dispute  among  historians.  William  of  Malmesbury,  in  his  work 
"  De  Antiquitate  Glastoniensis  Ecclesiae,"  has  a  list  of  bishops 
who  had  been  monks  of  that  famous  foundation  in  the  time  of 
Edgar — "  Qui  sequuntur  fuerunt  episcopi  tempore  Edgari  regis  in 
diversis  locis."  The  fourth  name,  in  William's  list,  is  Sigefridus — 
"  Nonas  Aprilis  obiit  Sigefridus  Norwegensis  Episcopus  monachus 
Glastoniae" — and  he  mentions  a  bequest  left  by  him  of  four 
copes. 

If  we  are  to  take  William  literally,  we  must  conclude  that  this 
bishop  lived  somewhere  between  959  and  975 ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  William  only  gives  the  day  of  his  death  (April  5th),  and  not 
the  year,  and  some  of  those  whom  he  names  outlived  the  period 
during  which  Edgar  reigned. 

It  may  be  well  to  examine  briefly  the  theories  which  have  been 
put  forth  as  to  who  this  Sigefridus  was. 

Absolon  Taranger,  in  his  most  interesting  and  valuable  work, 
Den  Angelsaksiske  Kirkes  Inflydelse  paa  den  Norske,  believes  that 
he  must  be  the  bishop  that  Haakon  the  Good  invited  from  England, 
to  help  him  in  his  attempt  to  introduce  Christianity.  But  it  must 
be  remembered,  that  it  is  not  quite  certain  that  any  bishop  came  at 
that  time,  for  although  Snorre  in  the  "  Heimskringla  "  undoubtedly 
mentions  a  bishop,  the  older  records  in  the  Agrip  and  Fagrskinna 
only  speak  of  priests.  Again,  Haakon's  attempt  was  made  in 
the  year  950,  which  is  nine  years  before  the  time  of  King  Edgar. 

Dr.  Konrad  Maurer,  in  Die  Bekehrung  des  Norwegischen  Stammes 
zum  Christenthume,  believes  (and  his  opinion  is  shared  by  Munch 
and  Keyser)  that  William's  Sigefridus  is  the  same  as  Sigurd 
Monachus,  who  lived  in  the  second  half  of  the  eleventh  century. 

AA2 


356  APPENDIX   I. 

Lappenberg  identifies  him  with  Sigefrid,  the  apostle  of  Sweden. 
This  Sigefrid  is  believed  by  some  to  be  identical  with  Olaf 
Trygvess0n's  court  bishop  of  the  same  name,  who,  after  the  battle 
of  Svolder,  is  said  to  have  gone  to  Sweden,  where  he  worked  with 
much  success. 

A.  D.  J^rgensen,  in  Den  Nordiske  KirJces  Grundlceggelse  og 
fprste  udvikling,  a  work  of  much  learning  and  research,  has  another 
person  still,  whom  he  thinks  to  be  identical  with  William's 
Sigefridus — namely,  Sigurd,  Knut  the  Great's  court  bishop  at 
Nidaros.  This  man,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  one  who  incited 
the  people  to  oppose  St.  Olaf  on  his  return  to  Norway,  before 
Stiklestad ;  and  after  the  saintship  of  Olaf  had  been  established, 
he  left  the  country. 

With  such  a  conflict  of  opinion  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not  indeed 
impossible,  to  come  to  any  conclusion.  The  objection  which  has 
been  raised  against  Taranger's  view,  that  he  is  too  early,  as 
Haakon's  attempt  was  made  in  950,  seems  not  altogether  con- 
clusive, as  it  is  at  any  rate  within  ten  years  of  Edgar's  time  ; 
while  Sigurd  the  monk  is  considered  by  his  supporters  to  have 
worked  in  the  second  half  of  the  eleventh  century,  which  would  be 
at  least  seventy-five  years  after  Edgar's  reign.  Taranger's  bishop 
(if,  however,  any  "  bishop  "  went  from  England  to  Haakon,  which 
is  not  clear)  is  at  any  rate  the  nearest  in  point  of  time  to  the  reign 
of  Edgar. 

Next  to  him  would  come  Olaf  Trygvess^n's  Bishop  Sigurd,  who 
is  most  probably  the  same  as  Siegfrid  the  apostle  of  Sweden, 
whom  Lappenberg  claims  as  William's  "  Sigefridus."  Olaf's 
bishop  doubtless  came  from  England,  and  quite  possibly  from 
Glastonbury,  though  we  are  not  told  so.  J^rgensen  is  very  con- 
fident in  claiming  Knut's  court  bishop  as  the  Glastonbury  monk, 
and  if  we  do  not  take  William's  chronology  strictly,  it  is  quite 
possible  that  Knut's  bishop  was  the  one  mentioned  by  him. 
We  know  that  Knut  was  frequently  at  Glastonbury,  and  also 
that  Bishop  Sigurd,  according  to  all  accounts,  was  the  founder 
of  the  Benedictine  monastery  on  Nidarholm,  afterwards  called 
Munkholm. 

If  the  chronology  can  be  still  further  stretched,  we  have  the 
claims  of  Sigurd  Monachus  to  be  the  Glastonbury  monk,  and, 
when  supported  by  the  authority  of  such  great  names  as  that  of 
Keyser,  Munch,  and  Maurer,  they  must  not  be  lightly  disregarded, 


APPENDIX   I.  857 

but  the  period  in  which  he  lived  is  at  least  twenty  years  after 
the  latest  name  in  William's  list.* 

We  have  thus  three  Sigurds  or  Sigefrids  working  in  Norway 
with  the  early  Christian  kings :  all  appear  without  doubt  to  have 
come  from  England.  If  Haakon's  bishop  was  the  Glastonbury 
monk  it  would  add  another  to  the  list.  If  J0rgensen's  theory 
that  Sigurd  the  monk  and  Knut's  Bishop  Sigurd  are  the  same  man, 
we  reduce  the  number  a  little,  and  make  it,  at  any  rate,  possible, 
if  not  probable,  that  he  was  William's  "Norwegensis  Episcopus." 
The  different  date  of  the  death  of  the  apostle  of  Sweden  (Feb- 
ruary 15th)  appears  fatal  to  his  claim.  Taranger's  weakest  point 
seems  the  doubt  that  clearly  exists  whether  Haakon  ever  asked 
for  a  bishop  as  well  as  priests. 

Though  the  question  is  an  interesting  one,  we  fear  it  must  be 
left  undecided  one  way  or  another,  and  it  seems  impossible  to  say 
with  certainty  that  we  can  identify  exactly,  any  of  the  Sigefrids 
with  the  monk  of  Glastonbury,  who  died  on  April  5th,  and  gave  a 
benefaction  of  vestments  to  the  great  foundation  of  the  West. 

*  Dr.  Konrad  Maurer's  views  will  be  found  in  his  Die  Belcehrung  des 
Norwegischen  Stammes,  Vol.  II.,  565. 


APPENDIX  II. 


THE  NORWEGIAN  STAVKIRKER  (MEDIAEVAL  WOODEN 
CHURCHES)  AND  THEIR  ORIGIN. 

OF  the  old  wooden  churches  of  Norway  those  which  were  built 
in  what  is  known  as  the  "  stav  "  style  at  once  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  foreigners  on  account  of  their  curious  and  often  very 
beautiful  construction.  There  are  no  churches  exactly  like  them 
in  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  con- 
troversy as  to  their  origin,  in  which  every  possible  detail  of 
construction  and  ornamentation  has  been  considered.  It  would  be 
impossible  here,  to  give  more  than  a  brief  summary  of  the  various 
points  of  importance  without  entering  too  far  into  detail.  As 
there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  work  on  the  subject  in  English,  it 
may  be  well  to  give  a  short  note  mainly  on  Professor  L.  Dietrich- 
son's  most  valuable  and  interesting  work,  De  Norske  Stavkirker.* 

It  has  been  roughly  estimated  that  Norway  in  the  Middle  Ages 
possessed  about  1,200  churches,  and  of  these  some  600  can  either 
be  seen  or  traced.  Of  these  about  300  were  wooden  churches, 
and  Dietrichson  considers  that  nearly  all  of  them  were  "  stav  " 
churches,  and  points  out  that  in  most  mediaeval  documents  where 
wooden  churches  are  mentioned  the  wording  makes  this  clear. 
These  stavkirker  were  spread  all  over  Norway,  and  are  especially 
found  in  the  Oplands  and  on  the  fjords,  while  stone  churches  are 
more  frequent  on  the  weather-beaten  coast  and  islands.  Of  the 
form  of  these  remarkable  buildings  much  has  been  written,  and  it 
will  be  sufficient  for  the  present  purpose  to  indicate  quite  generally 
their  main  features. 

The  church  generally  consisted  of  a  nave,  a  chancel,  and  a  semi- 
circular apse,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  sort  of  cloister  (svalgang,  or 

*  Kristiania,  1892. 


APPENDIX   II.  359 

omgang),  which  was  generally  open  except  at  the  east  end,  though 
occasionally,  as  at  Hedal,  it  was  completely  closed  in. 

The  entrances  to  this  cloister  were  opposite  the  doors  of  the  church 
itself,  and  were  often  in  the  west  end  or  under  one  of  the  many 
gables  of  the  roof.  From  the  cloister  roof  there  sprang  the  wall 
of  the  side  aisle,  then  came  another  roof,  and  then  the  nave  wall 
supporting  the  largest  roof,  which  was  crowned  hy  a  pointed  tower 
often  placed  on  a  sort  of  cross-roof.  The  chancel  was  similarly 
constructed,  though  the  dimensions  were  smaller,  and  there  was 
often  no  tower,  while  the  apse  did  not  generally  exceed  two 
stories,  and  was  semi-circular  in  shape,  often  finished  off  in  a 
small  round  tower. 

The  churches  varied  very  much  in  size  and  in  construction,  a 
few  of  them  having  one  transept,  but  the  majority  were  oblong  in 
shape.  Out  of  a  list  of  seventy-nine  churches  given  by  Dietrichson 
only  four  had  a  transept,  and  the  areas  covered  ranged  from 
3,696  to  about  400  square  feet.  The  ornamentation  externally 
consisted  chiefly  in  the  "  dragon  heads  "  on  the  gable  extremities 
and  the  carving  on  the  door  pillars,  which  was  often  of  wonderful 
intricacy  and  richness.  The  origin  of  the  dragon  head  ornamenta- 
tion has  been  much  disputed ;  some  writers  (e.g.,  Dahl)  trace 
them  to  the  dragon  heads  common  in  the  Viking  ships,  while 
Nicolaysen  and  others  are  inclined  to  believe  that  both  the  ships' 
beaks  and  the  dragon  heads  are  the  representation  of  the  fabulous 
creatures  of  northern  mythology.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  very 
likely  that  the  ships'  beaks  were  the  actual  source  of  the  orna- 
mentation, as  dragon  heads  were  used  on  them  long  before  any 
stavkirker  were  built ;  also,  in  a  country  where  the  best  woodworkers 
were  shipbuilders,  these  would  be  in  request  for  the  erection  of 
wooden  churches.  Professor  Dietrichson,  with  a  view  to  collecting 
materials  for  his  book,  in  1884  made  a  careful  personal  survey  of 
the  wooden  churches  which  then  existed  in  the  North  European 
countries  between  the  Volga  and  the  Thames,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  collected  much  valuable  information. 

Before  giving  his  conclusions  as  to  the  origin  of  the  stavkirke,  it 
may  be  well  to  enumerate  the  main  distinguishing  features  of  the 
buildings  in  question.  The  curious  roof  and  gable  system  is 
perhaps  the  most  noticeable  externally,  while  closer  examination  of 
the  walls  will  show  them  to  be  curiously  constructed  of  upright 
planks  set  into  a  sort  of  framework  of  beams.  In  buildings  made 


360  APPENDIX   II. 

of  horizontal  logs,  the  walls  support  as  well  as  close  in  the  sides  of 
the  building,  while  in  the  stavkirker  the  walls  only  serve  the 
latter  purpose,  most  of  the  weight  being  borne  by  the  pillars  at  the 
corners.  The  construction  of  these  walls  is  simple  and  effective, 
the  corner  posts  are  fixed  to  the  bottom  beam,  and  the  planks, 
which  are  tongued  and  grooved,  fit  into  each  other  and  into  the 
corner  posts.  These  planks  are  put  in  at  the  two  ends  first,  and 
when  there  is  only  room  for  two  more  (in  the  middle)  a  change  is 
made  in  their  treatment,  the  last  but  one  being  slightly  wider  at 
the  bottom  than  the  top,  and  the  last  plank  having  a  tongue  on 
both  sides  to  fit  the  two  grooves  and  being  wider  at  the  top  than 
the  bottom  so  as  to  form  a  wedge.  This  last  plank  is  then  driven 
in  and  tightens  the  whole  frame,  so  that  when  the  top  beam  is 
fitted  into  its  place  the  wall  is  very  strong  and  compact,  and  needs 
no  nails  or  pegs  to  hold  the  planks  in  their  places,  though  cross 
beams  are  sometimes  added  on  the  inside  to  give  it  additional 
rigidity. 

This  system  gives  the  churches  the  name  of  stavkirker,  stav 
meaning  a  rounded  post  or  pillar.  Amongst  other  peculiarities 
may  be  mentioned  the  svalgang,  or  omgang,  as  the  cloister  was 
called,  and  the  use  of  "  L  "  pieces  of  solid  wood  (knar)  to  join  pillars 
or  beams  inside  the  church.  These  pieces  of  wood  were  sometimes 
placed  one  inside  the  other  and  cut  so  as  to  form  arches,  and  are 
often  found  between  the  pillars  of  the  nave  and  the  wall  of  the  aisle, 
placed  so  as  to  make  a  sort  of  "  unfloored  triforium."  Several 
writers  are  of  opinion  that  the  stavkirker  are  of  Slavonic  origin,  as 
there  was  a  considerable  connection  with  Norway  and  Gardarike 
and  Vendland  about  the  date  when  many  of  these  churches 
were  built.  J.  C.  C.  Dahl  considers  that  the  shape  of  these 
churches  is  Byzantine  in  its  origin,  and  has  permeated  through 
Kussia  and  the  Slav  lands  to  the  North  ;  he  does  not  consider  that 
the  English  churches  had  any  influence  on  the  North,  and  entirely 
omits  the  Irish  group  of  wooden  churches. 

Nicolaysen  is  opposed  to  this  view,  and  holds  that  the  stavkirker 
of  Norway  are,  and  have  always  been,  unique,  and  have  no  connec- 
tion with  others  except  perhaps  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

Professor  Dietrichson,  after  examining  the  various  wooden 
churches  of  Northern  Europe,  divides  them  roughly  into  three 
groups : 

1.  The  Western  Group  :  Originating  in  the  Roman  Churches 


APPENDIX   II.  361 

and  spreading  over  Western  Europe,  receiving  additions  and  modi- 
fications in  various  countries.  All  these  churches  were  frame 
buildings. 

2.  The  Eastern  Group  ;  Originating  at  Byzantium  and  spreading 
over  Eastern  Europe.     All  these  churches  were  built  of  logs  laid 
horizontally. 

3.  The  Central  Group,  combining  the  two  former  groups.   Found 
in  Bohemia,  &c.     These  churches  are  partly  built  of  horizontal 
and  partly  of  vertical  timbers,  the  latter  (reisvaerk)  being  used  for 
higher  parts  of  the  building,  in  the  towers,  &c. 

An  examination  of  the  existing  Kussian  wooden  churches  shows 
that  they  are  all  built  in  the  blockhouse  or  horizontal  style,  which 
was  used  in  domestic  architecture  of  both  Norway  and  Russia.  In 
addition  to  this  there  are  the  following  differences  : 

a.  The   Norwegian    churches    are    langkirker,   i.e.,   long    and 
rectangular,  while  the   Russian  are   many  sided  and  sometimes 
nearly  round. 

b.  The  windows  in  the  Russian  are  square  or  rectangular,  while 
in  the  stavkirker  the  windows,   if  any,  are  generally  round ;  and 
the  Russian  churches  had  no  side  aisles. 

Both  Norwegian  and  Russian  had  the  cloister  or  svalgang,  but 
those  of  the  latter  were  seldom  open  or  arcaded. 

The  conclusion  arrived  at  is  that  the  Russian  as  well  as  the 
Hungarian  and  West  Slavonic  churches  had  no  influence  on  the 
Norwegian,  though  there  are  several  points  in  which  there  is  a 
seeming  similarity.  The  reisvcerk  German  churches  are  the 
nearest  of  the  eastern  group  to  the  stavkirker,  but  they  differ  in 
the  fact  that  their  sides  are  made  of  planks  nailed  to  the  cross- 
beams, and  not  mortised  into  them.  No  old  wooden  churches  now 
exist  in  Denmark,  and  as  that  country  was  Christianized  from 
Germany,  it  is  probable  that  the  churches  were  of  the  German 
pattern.  Dietrichson  treats  of  the  wooden  churches  of  Western 
Europe  at  considerable  length,  and  lays  great  stress  on  the 
influence  of  the  Irish  missionaries  on  the  style  of  the  churches 
in  England  and  the  West  of  Europe. 

The  Irish  method  of  building  (which  was  called  Opus  Scoticum 
or  Mos  Scotorum)  seems  to  have  been  as  follows :  A  framework 
was  made  of  beams,  supported  at  the  ends  by  posts,  and  in  it 
were  set  split  trunks  of  oak  with  the  flat  side  in  and  the  round  out, 
the  interstices  being  filled  with  clay  or  mortar. 


362  APPENDIX   II. 

No  old  wooden  churches  still  survive  in  Ireland,  but  from  various 
documents  some  information  can  be  obtained.  Dietrichson  (p.  88) 
quotes  Concubran's  Vita  St.  Monenae,  whose  church  was  built 
"  juxta  morem  Scotticarum  gentium  "  of  flat  hewn  planks.  Also  St. 
Bernardi  Vita  St.  Malachiae,  where  Bangor  Cloister  Church  (built 
1149)  is  said  to  have  been  "  of  beautiful  Irish  work  of  smoothened 
planks  firmly  joined."  Bede,  in  Eccles.  Hist.  III.  25,  describes 
the  church  built  by  Finan  in  Lindesfarne  as  being  made  "  after  the 
manner  of  the  Scots  .  .  .  not  of  stone  but  of  hewn  oak  and 
covered  with  reeds."  Maclear  ("  The  Celts ")  says  that  the 
monastic  churches  in  early  times  were  often  made  of  wood  and 
called  duirthech,  or  house  of  oak,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
original  buildings  at  lona  were  of  this  kind. 

On  the  Continent  there  were  many  examples  of  similar  buildings, 
such  as  St.  Martin's  at  Rouen  ("  Gregory  of  Tours,"  Op.  Vol.IV.  41, 
V.  2),  St.  Boniface's  Chapel  at  Geismar,  and  the  old  wood  minster  at 
Strassburg,  which  (see  Kreuser,  Der  Christliche  Kirchenbau,  I.  332) 
"  was  built  of  half  tree  trunks,  the  rough  sides  of  which  were 
turned  outwards  and  the  spaces  between  them  filled  with  earth, 
chalk,  or  other  filling." 

Dietrichson  identifies  this  "  Opus  Scoticum  "  with  the  primitive 
stav  construction,  of  which  the  only  extant  example  is  to  be  found 
at  Greensted,  near  Ongar,  in  Essex.  In  this  church,  which  is 
most  interesting  as  being  the  only  survival  of  Anglo-Saxon  wooden 
churches,  only  the  side  walls  and  parts  of  the  west  end  are  left  of 
the  original  building,  and  these  are  constructed  "more  Scotorum" 
of  half  trees  let  into  beams  at  the  top  and  bottom,  and  joined  to 
each  other  with  strips  of  wood,  while  the  interstices  are  filled  with 
a  sort  of  cement. 

There  are  several  points  of  difference  between  this  church  and 
the  earliest  Norsk  stavkirke,  but  the  method  of  constructing 
the  walls  is  the  same  ;  the  frame  system  seems  to  have  existed 
though  the  top  and  bottom  beams  were  renewed  when  the 
church  was  restored,  but  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  they  were 
joined  to  the  corner  posts,  of  whose  present  existence  Dietrichson 
did  not  seem  to  be  aware,  though  he  was  convinced  that  they  did 
once  exist.  Dietrichson  considers  that  Greensted  is  a  specimen 
of  that  style  of  church  building  from  which  the  Norsk  stavkirker 
take  their  origin.  As  Greensted  Church  probably  dates  from  1012, 
it  is  therefore  a  good  deal  older  than  the  oldest  Norsk  stavkirke 


APPENDIX   IT.  363 

(Urnes,  c.  1100),  and  there  is  a  considerable  difference  between  the 
two.  Urnes  is  more  elaborate,  and  has  side  aisles,  while  Greensted 
has  a  plain  nave,  and  the  roof  of  Urnes  shows  the  curious  Norsk 
construction,  which  was  probably  not  found  in  the  original  roof  at 
Greensted.  It  is  true  that  stav  work  was  known  in  Norway  before 
Christianity,  but  "  the  impulse  came  from  the  place  whence  in  the 
Viking  times  the  North  took  the  important  elements  of  its  orna- 
mentation, namely,  from  Ireland  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  countries."  * 
So  much  for  the  wall  construction.  The  roof  and  gable  system 
seems  to  have  been  the  outcome  of  the  climatic  conditions  of 
Norway,  where  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  thatch  roof  would  be  of  little 
use  on  account  of  the  heavy  snowfall  and  frequent  storms.  Hence 
the  Norwegians  developed  a  system  of  steep  roofs  and  short  walls, 
which  give  the  stavkirke  its  peculiar  interest  and  beauty.  The 
steep  roof  would  prevent  snow  from  lying  on  it,  and  the  short 
perpendicular  walls  would  minimise  the  resistance  to  the  wind, 
while  the  frequent  gables  would  serve  the  same  purpose  by  offering 
a  triangular  instead  of  a  rectangular  surface.  There  are  several 
points  of  resemblance  between  the  construction  of  these  roofs  and 
that  of  the  ships  of  the  period,  many  of  which  are  mentioned  by 
Bruunf  in  his  Norges  Stavkyrkor.  The  method  of  joining  cross- 
beams with  "L"  pieces  of  solid  wood,  sometimes  rounded  to  form 
part  of  an  arch,  is  peculiar  to  Norway,  and  is  found  in  boats  and 
stavkirker ;  this  is  corroborated  by  Viollet  le  Due,  who  says  J  that 
the  use  "  de  bois  courbes  "  belongs  to  Northern  people  and  their 
shipbuilding. 

The  svalgang,  or  cloister,  is  not  peculiarly  Norwegian,  being 
found  under  various  forms  in  Hungary,  Silesia,  Russia,  and 
Bohemia,  and  being  in  use  in  domestic  architecture  before  it  was 
transferred  to  the  stavkirker. 

The  stavkirker  would  thus  seem  to  be  a  product  of  a  rather 
composite  nature,  the  original  method  of  building  the  walls 
coming  apparently  from  the  "  Opus  Scoticum  "  of  Great  Britain 

*  Dietrichson,  De  Norske  Stavkirker,  p.  165. 

t  He  also  compares  the  peculiar  floor  work  of  the  stavkirker  to  the  deck 
of  a  ship. 

J  Dictionnaire  raisonne  de  V architecture  franfaise  du  XI.*  au  XVI.e  siecle, 
Vol.  VII.,  p.  38.  The  similarity  between  boat  and  roof  construction  is  also 
noticed  by  Gottfried  Semper  in  Der  Stil,  and  Valtyr  Gudmundss0n  considers 
that  this  roof  construction  is  of  Norwegian  origin. 


364  APPENDIX   II. 

and  Ireland,  the  later  form  taken  by  the  stavkirker  being  the 
result  of  modifications  introduced  to  suit  the  climate  of  Norway, 
the  tools,  the  methods,  and  the  experience  of  the  builders.  These 
modifications  have  made  the  stavkirke  almost  unique,  and  Norway 
may  claim  to  have  reached  in  them  "  the  crowning  point  of  the 
mediaeval  art  of  wooden  church  building." 

There  are  many  interesting  points  which  are  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  note,  such  as  the  origin  of  the  ornamentation  of  door  pillars 
and  the  capitals,  which  has  been  much  disputed,  while  the  con- 
nection, if  any,  between  the  stavkirke  and  the  old  hov,  or  heathen 
temple,  has  also  given  rise  to  some  controversy. 

Unfortunately  for  Norway,  reckless  destruction,  or  often  want 
of  care,  has  left  her  only  about  twenty-four  fairly  well-preserved 
specimens  of  these  curious  churches,  whose  peculiar  beauty  seems 
in  a  remarkable  degree  to  suit  their  natural  surroundings. 

The  following  list  of  authorities  taken  from  Professor  Dietrichson's 
book  may  be  of  interest  to  those  who  wish  to  pursue  the  subject 
further : — 

NICOLAYSEN,  N.  —  Norske  Bygnmger  fra  Fortiden,  Kristiania, 
1860 — 1880  ;  Mindesmcerker  of  Middelalderens  Kunst  i  Norge, 
and  his  articles  on  tk  Hov  and  Stavkirker "  in  the  Hist. 
Tidsskrift.,  II.,  Vol.  VI. 

BRUUN,  JOHAN. — Norges  Stafkyrkor,  Stockholm,  1891. 

DIETBICHSON,  L. — Eiendommelighederne  ved  Stavkirkernes  Con- 
struction, in  the  Nordisk  Tidskrift  for  Vetenskap  Konst  og 
Industrit  Stockholm,  1887  ;  also  Constructions  en  bois  de 
I 'architecture  Norvegienne  au  moyen  age,  in  Vol.  XXXIX.  of 
"  L'Art,"  Paris,  1885. 

I  have  to  thank  Professor  Dietrichson  for  his  kindness  in  reading 
these  notes,  and  making  some  valuable  corrections. — 0.  W. 


Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  received  some  particulars  of 
the  old  wooden  belfry  at  Brookland  (Kent),  which  in  many  points 
resembles  a  stavkirke.  Its  roof  is  in  three  parts,  one  above  the 
other  ;  its  framework  has  the  long  corner  posts,  and  rests  on 
stiller  (cross  beams),  while  its  perpendicular  walls  are  of  reisv&rk, 
which  is  nailed  to  the  beams  as  in  the  German  churches. 


I   UNIV 

V 


APPENDIX  III. 


THE  BISHOPS  AND  AECHBISHOPS  OF  NIDAROS 
FROM  THE  EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE 
REFORMATION. 

BISHOPS. 

SIGURD  (OR  SIGEFRID)  .  .  Olaf  Trygvess0n's  Mis- 
sionary Bishop — left 
Norway  for  Sweden, 
1002. 

GRIMKELL  .  .  .  .St.  Olafs  companion — 

last  mentioned  in  1046. 


SIGEFRID  II.    . 

RAGNAR 

KETEL 

ADALBERT 

THOLF    . 
SIMON     . 

IVAR 

REIDAR  . 

JON  BYRGESS0N 


Knut  the  Great's  Bishop 
—left  in  1031. 


.     1066  (?)— apparently  the 
first  Diocesan  Bishop. 
.     1067—1072. 
.     Died  probably  1139. 

ARCHBISHOPS. 

.     Died  1151 — on  his  way 

from  Rome. 
.     (Translated  from  Bergen) 

1152—1157. 


366 


LIST  OF  BISHOPS    AND   ARCHBISHOPS. 


ARCHBISHOPS— continued. 


EYSTEIN  ERLENDSS0N 

ERIK  IVARSS0N 
THORE  GuDMUNDss0N 

GUTTORM  . 

PETER 

THORE  (DEN  TR^NDSKE)  . 
SIGURD  EiNDRiDESs0N 

S0RLE       

ElNAR   GUNNARSS0N 

HAAKON 

JON  EAUDE     .... 

J0RUND    

ElLIV   ARNESS0N 
PAUL   BAARDSS0N      . 

ARNE  EINARSS0N     . 

OLAF 

THROND  

NICHOLAS  RUSER  (OR  RUSARE) 

VlNALDE   HENRIKSS0N 
ASKELL 

ASLAK  BOLT  .... 
OLAF  THRONDSS0N  . 

GAUTE  IvARSS0N     .        .        . 
ERIK  VALKENDORF. 
OLAF  ENGELBREKTSS0N 


1157(consecratedll61 

1188. 

1189— resigned  1205. 
1207—1214. 
1215—1224. 
1224—1226. 
1227—1230. 
1231—1252. 
1253-1254. 
1255—1263. 
1265—1267. 
1268—1282. 
1288—1309. 
1311—1332. 
1333—1346. 
1346—1349. 
1349—1371. 
1371—1381. 
1382—1386. 
1386—1402, 
1402—1428. 
1428—1450. 
1450  (elected),  confirm 
1459_1474. 

1474—1510. 
1510—1522. 
1523—1537  (died  1538) 


The  bishops  up  to  Adalbert  (1066)  cannot,  of  course, 
strictly  speaking,  be  said  to  be  bishops  of  Nidaros,  as  there 


LIST  OF  BISHOPS  AND  ARCHBISHOPS.  367 

was  no  diocesan  episcopacy  in  the  early  times ;  but  as 
their  work  was  mainly  carried  on  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  their  names  are  usually  included  in  the  Nidaros 
list.  The  exact  order,  and  the  names  as  well,  are  not 
certain.  The  list  given  above  follows  J0rgenss0n  in  Den 
Nordiske  Kirkes  Grundlceggelse  og  f0rste  udvikling. 


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.  Erik  of  Sweden' 
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m.  Duke  of  Me< 
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B  B 


INDEX. 


AALBOBG,  293 

Aanund,  Jacob,  76,  80,  83 

Aasta  Gudbrandsdatter,  60 

Abingdon,  69 

Absalon,  Abp.  of  Lund,  167 

Adalbert  of  Bremen,  101,  103 

Adam  of  Bremen,  21,  34,  69,  78, 

98,  126,  127 
Adolf  of  Slesvig,  275 
Adrian  IV.,  Pope,  139,  147 
Adrian  VI.,  Pope,  301 
Agder,  46,  59,  247 
Agnes,  225,  276 
Akershus,  228, 291,  300,  322,  323, 

335,  340 

Albans,  St.,  130,  258 
Albert  of  Mecklenburg,  330 
Albert  of  Prussia,  Duke,  341 
Albrekt  of  Mecklenburg,  250,  251, 

255 

Alexander  II.,  Pope,  103 
Alexander  III.,  Pope,  147—161 
Alexander  V.,  Pope,  267 
Alexander  VI.,  Pope,  297 
Alexander  III.  of  Scotland,  218 
Alexius  I.,  Emp.,  Ill 
Alexius  III.,  Emp.,  172 
Alfiva  (^Ifgifu),  91—93 
Alfss0n,  Knut,  306 
Alkmar,  348 
Althing,  55 

Anastasius  IV.,  Pope,  139 
Anders  Matson,  348 
Andover,  41 

Andreas,  Bp.  of  Oslo,  219 
Andres  Plytt,  218 
Ansgar,  20,  21,  33 
Antonius,  314 
Antvorskov  Cloister,  347 


Amund  Sigurdss0n,  271 

Amsterdam,  300 

Aquitaine,  102 

Arcemboldus,  John,  302 

Arne,  Bp.  of  Stavanger,  223 

Arne,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  230,  231 

Arne,  Einarss0n,  Abp.,  243,  244 

Arvefil,  125 

Asatro,  3 

Asbj0rn  of  Medalhus,  27 

Aser,  3 

Asgaard,  3,  4 

Asgaut,  102 

Askell,  Abp.,  266 

Astrid,  40,  76 

Athelstan,  15,  23 

Audfin,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  240 

Augsburg,  324 

Augustinians  in  Norway,  130 

Autbert,  20 

Ave  Maria  introduced,  143 

Avignon,  231,  260 

^Elfheah  (St.  Alphege),  41 

Baahus,  242,  322,  340 

Baard  Guttormss0n,  163 

Baglers,  The,  172 

Barlaam's  and  Josafat's  Saga, 
185 

Basel,  Council  of,  281 

a  Becket,  Thomas,  147,  246 

Bede,  72 

Bene,  191 

Benedictines  in  Norway,  130 

Bergen  (Bj0rgvin)  founded,  106  ; 
Bishopric  of,  119;  133,  138, 
145 ;  Magnus  Erlingss0n 
crowned  at,  150 ;  159,  162  ; 
Council  at,  165  ;  169  ;  Sverre 

B   B    2 


372 


INDEX. 


crowned  at,  170 ;  Burned 
by  Baglers,  174  ;  180,  187 ; 
Council  at,  190 ;  194 ;  Haakon 
Haakonss0n  crowned  at,  197 ; 
206,  Council  of,  212,  215; 
218,  223  ;  Provincial  Council 
at,  237—238;  242;  Black 
Death  begins  at,  245 ;  Murder 
of  Bishop  of,  283,  284;  288; 
Kristian  and  Dyveke  at,  299 ; 
Vincent  Lunge  comes  to, 
306;  State  Council  at,  307; 
Eske  Bilde  in  command  at, 
309  ;  Lutheran  preachers  at, 
314;  Destruction  of  churches 
in,  316—318  ;  Munkeliv  de- 
stroyed, 336,  347;  Geble 
Pederss0n,  Lutheran  superin- 
tendent of,  349 

Bergenhus,  307,  316,  335,  340 

Bergliot,  59 

Bernhard,  69,  100 

Bilde,  Eske,  309,  31±etseq.,  329, 
332,  334,  337,  345—347 

Bilde,  Klaus,  332,  334,  336 

Bilde,  Torben,  Abp.  of  Lund,  342 

Birger  Magnuss0n,  226,  232,  233 

Birger  Pederson,  258 

Birger  of  Tautra,  210 

Birgitta,  St.,  131,  258—261 

Birk  (Sigtuna),  20 

Birkebeiner,  The,  154,  183,  191, 
194 

Biskopsrede,  124,  128 

Bjarne  Erlingss0n,  217 

Bjarne  Lodinss0n,  217,  225 

Bj0rn  Farmand,  14,  59 

Bj0rn,  King  of  Sweden,  20 

Black  Death(SorteD^),245e£se2. 

Blanche  of  Namur,  241,  259 

"Bloodbath  of  Stockholm,"  304. 

Blot,  6 

Bogesund,  303 

Bolt,  Aslak  (Harniktss0n),  Abp., 
268—270,  279 

Bolt,  Aslak,  Jordebog  of,  269 

Bonde,  1 

Boniface  IX.,  Pope,  261 

Borg  (Sarpsborg),  64,  75,  81,  189 


Borgar  Thing,  74,  126,  142,  211 

Bothwell,  339 

B0mmel  Fjord,  251 

Braga,  4 

Breakspeare  Nicholas,  his  Mis- 
sion to  Norway,  137  et  seq. ; 
Death  of,  147  ;  186,  207 

Bremen,  21,  34,  45,  70 

Brimiskjarr,  35 

Brynjulfss0n,  Jon,  219 — 221 

Bugenhagen,  349 

Bukken  Fjord,  82 

Burislaf  of  Vendland,  53 

Bury  St.  Edmunds,  160 

Byrgess0n,  Jon,  Bp.  and  Abp., 
138, 146 

Calixtus  III.,  Pope,  285 

Campeggio,  Cardinal,  320 

Catharine  of  Siena,  St.,  260 

Cecilia,  114,  115 

Cecilia,  Sister  of  Sverre,  155, 157, 
162,  187 

Celestine  III.,  Pope,  171 

Celestine  IV.,  Pope,  195 

Charles  V.,  Emp.,  299,  300,  320, 
331,  338 

Christina,  208 

Cistercians  in  Norway,  130 

Clement  III.,  Pope,  165 

Clement  IV.,  Pope,  210 

Clement  V.,  Pope,  229 

Clement  VI.,  Pope,  243,  248 

Concordat,  T0nsberg,  213  et  seq., 
217,  221,  285 

Constantinople,  97,  111 

Copenhagen,  232 ;  University 
founded,  287 ;  299,  303,  304, 
321,  324,  329;  Taken  by 
Count  Kristofer,  330 ;  Siege 
of  336 ;  Surrenders  to  Kris- 
tian III.,  339  ;  Coup  d'Etat 
at,  341 ;  Eigsdag  at,  342;  346 

Corvei,  20 

Crusade,  Sigurd's,  111. 

Cumbria,  19 

Dagfirm,  191 
Dag  Hringss0n,  86 


INDEX. 


378 


Dale  Gudbrand,  77 

Ditmarsk,  289 

Dominicans  in  Norway,  130,  206, 

223 

Dovre  Fjeld,  113 
Dragseid,  46,  47 
Drammen,  81,  100 
Drotsete  first  appointed,  239 
Dublin,  13,  17,  19,  41 
Dyveke,  299,  300 

Ebbo  of  Eheims,  20 

Eidsiva  Thing,  8,  46,  142,  211 

Eidsvold,  10 

Eiliv  Arness0n,  230,  231,  235, 
239,  241 

Einabu,  82 

Einar  Gunnarss0n,  204,  210 

Einar,  Thamberskj elver,  59,  81, 
83,98 

Eindride,  98,  220 

Eivind  Kinnriva,  48,  52 

Elgesseter,  130,  162,  194 

Elfsborg,  283 

Elina,  332 

Eliaess0n,  Paul,  303 

Enkj0bing,  251 

Erik  Blodfikse  (Bloodaxe),  14, 
22,  29 

Erik  the  Good  (of  Denmark), 
135 

Erik  of  Hordaland,  11 

Erik  Ivarss0n,  Abp.,  165;  Con- 
troversy with  Sverre,  166 ; 
Mies  to  Denmark,  167 ; 
Excommunicates  Sverre, 
168;  Returns  to  Norway, 
186  ;  Eesigns,  188 

Erik  Jarl,  53,  58 

Erik  of  Jylland,  20 

Erik  of  Pomerania,  254  ;  Marries 
Philippa,  d.  of  Hen.  IV.  of 
England,  258 ;  Norway 
Rebels  against,  271 ;  Ap- 
points Drotsete,  272;  Re- 
jected by  Norway  and 
Dies,  273 

Erik  (Prestehader),  216 ;  Corona- 
tion of,  217 ;  Regents  and 


Abp.  Jon.,  217;  Defends 
the  Church,  220;  Makes 
new  Agreement  with  Church, 
221;  Death  of,  223;  His 
Daughter,  "The  Maid  of 
Norway,"  224 

Erik  of  Sweden,  51 

Erlend,  Bp.  of  Fseroe,  227 

Erling,  38 

Erling  Skakke,  144,  147 

Erling  Skjalgss0n,  46,  59,  82 

Erling  Steinvaeg,  188 

Erling  Vidkunss0n,  239,  241 

Ethelred  II.,  40,  60 

Ethelward,  41 

Eugenius  III.,  Pope,  136 

Euphemia  of  Riigen,  225 

Euphemia  (sister  of  Magnus),  250 

Evenvik,  46,  106 

Eystein  Aslakss0n,  Bp.  of  Oslo, 
257 

Eystein  Erlendss0n,  Abp.,  61, 
94,  146 ;  His  Compact  with 
Magnus,  151 ;  Flies  to  Eng- 
land, 159 ;  Returns  to  Nor- 
way, 160 ;  Compiles  "  Gol- 
den Feather,"  161;  Com- 
mences Cathedral,  162 ; 
Death  of,  163 

Eystein,  King,  110,  113 

Eystein,  King  (son  of  Harald 
Gille),  134, 135, 136  ;  Killed, 
144 

Eystein  M0ila,  154 

Falk0ping,  255 

Fseroe  Islands,  13,  57,  138,  217, 

227,  236 

Fidentius,  Cardinal,  173 
Filippus,  188,  189 
Finland,  244 

Finn  Halldorss0n,  229,  231 
Fitjar,  29 
Fjeldstuer,  113 
Flensborg,  267,  305,  324 
Florence  of  Worcester,  41 
Florevaag,  169 
Folkvid,  155,  162 
Fountains  Abbey,  130 


374 


INDEX. 


Franciscans  in  Norway,  130,  206, 
223 

Frederick  I.,  King  of  Denmark, 
304;  Accepted  Conditionally 
in  Norway,  307;  His  Mani- 
festo from  Eibe,  308  ;  Grants 
Toleration  to  Lutherans, 
313;  Sends  Duke  Kristian 
to  Norway,  314;  Orders 
Destruction  of  Bergen 
Churches,  317  ;  Helped  by 
Liibeckers  against  Kristian 
II.,  323;  His  Eesponsibility 
for  Breach  of  Safe  Conduct 
to  Kristian  IT.,  325;  Death 
of,  326 

Frederick  II.,  Emp.,  196 

Frederick  III.,  Emp.,  289 

Frederick,  Count  Palatine,  338, 
344 

Frederick,  Duke  of  Slesvig,  290 

Frederiksvasrn,  64 

Fresze,  Herman,  314 

Freya,  4,  6,  10,  73 

Frigg,  3 

Frosta  Thing,  8,  46, 142,  205,  211 

Fyen,  343 

Fylke,  6,  7,  13 

Fylke  Kirke,  121,  122 

Gaard,  2 

Galle,  Olaf,  306,  309 

Gardarike,  82,  83 

Garde,  138,  242,  297 

Gautbert,  20 

Gaute  Ivarss0n,  287,  288,  292 

Geble  Pederss0n,  336,  337,  348, 
349 

"  General  Eecess "  of  Copen- 
hagen, The,  342 

Gilds,  108 

Gims0,  303 

Ginnungagap,  3 

Gissur  Thorvaldss0n,  203 

Gissur  the  White,  56 

Glommen,  65 

"Golden  Feather,"  The,  161, 
167,  201 

Gotland,  197,  272,  273 


Gottorp,  326 

Greenland,  13,  57,  103,  138,  202, 

204,  242,  297 
Gregorius  Dagss0n,  144 
Gregory  VII.,  Pope,  109 
Gregory  IX.,  Pope,  195,  203,  207, 

208 

Gregory  X.,  Pope,  212 
Gregory  XII.,  Pope,  267 
Grevens  Feide,  The,  330 
"  Grey  Goose,"  The,  96,  161,  167 
Grim,  89 

Grimkell,  67,  69,  82,  92,  93 
Grubbe,  Joachim,  284 
Gudbrandsdal,  75,  77 
Gudrun(Jernskjsegge's  daughter) 

Gula  Thing,  8,  46,  142,  151,  211 

Gunhild,  22,  29,  33,  40 

Gunhild  (Sverre's  mother),  156 

Gustav  Vasa,  304 

Guthorm,  11 

Guttorm,  Abp.,  190 

Gyda,  11,  12 

Gyldenstjerne,     Knut,    Bp.     of 

Fyen,  323 
Gyldenstjerne,  Mogen,  322,  324, 

326 
Gyrd,  Bp.  of  Stavanger,  248 

Haakon  Erikss0n,  63,  81 

Haakon  Galin,  187,  188 

Haakon  the  Good,  Birth,  15 ; 
Gains  Norway,  23  ;  Tries  to 
Introduce  Christianity,  25, 
27 ;  Death,  29 

Haakon  Haakonss0n,  187,  189; 
Chosen  King,  190 ;  and  Bp. 
Nicholas,  193  ;  Contest  with 
Skule,  194  ;  Coronation,  196 
—199 ;  Kristenret  of,  201 ; 
Annexes  Iceland,  202  ;  New 
Law  of  Succession,  205 ; 
Death  of,  206 

Haakon  Herdebred,  144,  147 

Haakon  Ivarss0n,  Abp.,  253 

Haak  Jarl,  33,  36,  43 

Haakon    Magnuss0n    (d.   1095) 
109 


I 


INDEX. 


375 


Haakon  V.,  Magnuss0n,  225 ; 
His  New  Law  of  Succession, 
226;  Curtails  Power  of  the 
Barons,  227 ;  Appoints  a 
"Magister  Capellarum 
Eegis,"228,229;  His  Daugh- 
ter Ingeborg  Marries  Duke 
Erik,  232  ;  Death  of,  233 

Haakon  VI.,  Magnuss0n,  Marries 
Margaret  of  Denmark,  250  ; 
Sole  King  in  Norway,  253  ; 
Death  of,  253 

Haakon  Sverress0n,  185  ;  Death 
of,  187 

Haakon,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  242 

Haakon,  Abp.,  210 

Haalogaland,  8,  48,  52,  76,  239, 
244 

Haarek  of  Thjotta,  48,  52,  81,  85 

Hadeland,  10,  40 

Hafrsfjord,  12 

Halfdan  Hvitbein,  10 

Halfdan  Svarte,  10 

Halkel  Huk,  114 

Hallkel  Jonss0n,  169 

11  Halmstad  Recess,"  288, 292, 296 

Halsn0  Cloister,  130,  270 

Halvard,  St.,  99,  119 

Halyard's  Skat,  205 

Hamar,  120,  138,  347 

Hamburg,  20,  35 

Hans,  King,  Accepted  as  King  of 
Norway,  285  ;  Issues  Halm- 
stad Eecess  and  is  Crowned  at 
Trondhjem,  288;  Defeated 
by  Ditmarskers,  289,  290; 
Sweden  and  Norway  Eebel, 
291;  Sends  Duke  Kristian  to 
Norway,  291;  Procures  Ap- 
pointment of  Abp.  Valdendorf 
and  his  Death,  293 

Hans  (son  of  Kristian  II.),  324 

Hans,  Duke  (son  of  Frederick  I.), 
328,  329 

Hanseatic  League,  216 

Harald  Blaatand,  32,  33,  36 

Harald  Gille,  114;  Proclaimed 
King,  132;  Hangs  Bp. 
Eeinald,  133  ;  Dies,  133 


Harald  Gormss0n,  29 

Harald  Graafell,  29,  31,  33 

Harald  Grenske,  59,  100 

Harald  Haardraade,  76,  84 ;  De- 
mands Kingdom,  97 ;  Founds 
Oslo,  99;  Contest  with 
Bremen,  100—103;  Death 
of,  105 

Harald  Haarfagre,  11,  12,  17 

Harald  Klak,  11 

Hardeknut,  95 

Haugesund,  15 

Haukby,  109 

Hebrides,  13,  206,  210,  287 

Hedal  Church,  246 

Hedemarken,  82,  291 

Heidelberg,  331 

"  Heimskringla,"  The,  202 

Helge  the  Thin,  19 

Helgeaaen,  80 

Helsingborg,  232,  273,  330 

Hemmingsted,  290 

Henrikss0n,  Nils,  306,  319 

Herluf  Hufvudfat,  291 

Herreds,  6,  7 

Herreds  kirker,  121  et  seq. 

Herse,  1 

Hirdmcend,  215 

Hjalte  Skjaeggess0n,  56 

Hjort  of  Vaage,  48 

Hlade,  23,  48,  64 

Hole,  138,  150,  202,  203,  217, 
242 

Holmengraa,  134 

Holstein,  20 

Holy  Saviour,  Order  of  the,  261, 
265,  269 

Honorius  III.,  Pope,  190 

Honorius  IV.,  Pope,  220 

Hordaland,  46 

Hoskold  Hoskoldss0n,  Bp.  of 
Stavanger,  311,  337,  347 

Hov,  5,  6 

Hoved0en,  130,  322 

Hfigendes  kirker,  121  et  seq., 
166. 

Hflrg,  6 

Hubert,  Abp.  of  Bremen,  135 

Hundthorp,  77 


376 


INDEX. 


Iceland,  13,  54,  55,  138,  203 

Ilevolden,  159 

Inga,  189 

Inge  Baardss0n,  187 

Ingeborg     (Queen    of    Magnus 

Lagab0ter),  205,  217 
Ingeborg  (d.  of  Haakon  V.),  225, 

228,  232,  239 

Ingeborg  of  Mecklenburg,  253 
Inge  Krokryg,  134,  137 ;  Killed, 

144 

Innocent  III.,  Pope,  175, 182,  206 
Innocent  IV.,  Pope,  195,  208 
Innocent  VI.,  Pope,  248 
Interdict,  Norway  under  the,  176 
Isabella  (of  Burgundy),  299,  320 
Isabella,  224 
Isebrand,  Wolf,  290 

Jakob,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  252 

James  III.  (of  Scotland),  287 

Jaroslav,  82,  83 

Jaemtland,  84,  113,  158 

Jens,  or  Jon,  Bp.  of  Oslo,  270, 

276—278 

Jernskjaegge  of  Upphaug,  49 
Jocelin  de  Brakelond,  160 
Jom,  or  Jumne,  37 
Jomsvikings,  35,  37 
Jons  Kloster,  130 
Jon  (Eaude),  Abp.,  210,  211,  217, 

219,  240 

J0rund,  Bp.  of  Hamar,  and  Abp., 

220,  223,  224,  226,  230 
Jotuns,  3 

Julefest,  26 

Julius  II.,  Pope,  293 

Jylland,  330,  343 

Kallundborg,  324 

Kalmar,  256,  273 

Kalmar  Union,  The,  256  et  seq. 

Kalteisen,  Henrik  (Abp.),  281,282 

Kalv  Arness0n,  81,  85,  95 

Kalvskindet,  159 

Karl  the  Great,  20 

Karl,  Bp.  of  Hamar,  291 

Karl  of  Sweden,  277 

Katharina,  272 


King's  Lynn,  197 

Kirkevaag  (Orkney),  138 

Kirkeb0  (Fasroe  Islands),  138 

Knut  the  Great,  59,  78,  80 

Knut  Porse,  236,  239 

Knutss0n,  Alf,  289 

Knutss0n  Karl,  272,  275,  285 

Kolbj0rn  Stallare,  54 

Koln,  282 

Konghelle,  51,  170,  200 

Kors  Kirke  (Bergen),  318 

Krabbe,  John,  292 

Krabbe,  Morten,  331 

Kristenret,  St.  Olaf's,  71  et  seq., 
149;  Abp.  System's,  161; 
Sverre's,  165 ;  of  Haakon 
Haakonss0n  and  Abp.  Si- 
gurd, 201,  240;  Bp.  Thorlak's 
(Iceland),  202 

Kristian  I.  (Christiern),  offered 
Norwegian  Crown,  276, 277  ; 
Crowned  at  Nidaros,  278 ; 
His  Policy  to  Norwegian 
Church,  279;  His  Compact 
with  Marcellus,  280;  His 
Conflict  with  the  Pope,  284 ; 
Calls  Meeting  at  Skara,  285 ; 
Accepts  T0nsberg  Concordat, 
286;  Pledges  Orkneys  and 
Shetlands,  287 ;  Founds  Co- 
penhagen University,  and 
His  Death,  287 

Kristian  II.  (Christiern),  King, 
Crowned  at  Oslo,  296; 
Meets  Dyveke  and  Marries 
Isabella  of  Burgundy,  299; 
Sigbrit's  Influence  over,  300; 
Controversy  with  Abp. 
Valkendorf,  300;  Eeceives 
Arcemboldus  in  Denmark, 
302 ;  Patronizes  Lutheranism 
and  Conquers  Sweden,  303  ; 
"Bloodbath  of  Stockholm," 
304 ;  Deposed  and  Flies  to 
Netherlands,  304  ;  Abp. 
Olaf  Engelbrektss0n  Swears 
Allegiance  to,  305;  Abjures 
Lutheranism,  319,  320 ;  In- 
vades Norway,  321  ;  Fails 


INDEX. 


377 


to  take  Akershus,  322  ;  Sur- 
renders at  Oslo,  323 ;  Goes 
to  Copenhagen  under  Pro- 
mise of  Safe  Conduct,  324 ; 
Imprisonment  and  Death  of, 
324  325 

Kristian'lII.,'328— 331,  333,337 ; 
Captures  Copenhagen,  339  ; 
His  Coup  d'Etat,  341 ;  His 
Manifesto,  342 ;  Abolishes 
Norwegian  Independence, 
343 

Kristian  IV.,  350 

Kristine,  188 

Kristofer  of  Bavaria,  272 — 
274 

Kristofer  of  Oldenborg,  Count, 
330 

Krummedike,  Hartvig,  276,  289 

Krummedike,  Henrik,  291,  306, 
307,  309 

Lacman,  61 
Lag<t>re,  148,  166 
Langesund,  64 
Largs,  Battle  at,  206 
Laurentius,  Abbot  of  Hoved0en, 

196 
Lauritss0n,  Mogen,  Bp.  of  Hamar, 

312 

Leif  Erikss0n,  57 
Leilandinger,  8 
Lendermznd,  205,  215,  227 
Leo  X.,  Pope,  293,  301 
Liafdag,  34,  35 
Libentius  of  Bremen,  78 
Liemar,  Abp.,  109 
Lierre,  349 
Lille  Mi0sen,  79 
Lindesnaes,  58 
Linkj0ping,  235 
Livaag,  37 
Lorn,  246 

Lothair,  Cardinal,  175 
Louvain,  348 
Liibeck,  302,  329,  330 
Lucie  (Nilsdatter),  332 
Ludvig  the  German,  21 
Ludvig  the  Pious,  20,  21 


Lund,  104,  135,  342 

Lunge,  Vincent,  Comes  to  Nor- 
way, 306 ;  Meets  Frederick 
I.  at  Eibe,  307;  Eeceives 
Nonnesaeter,  309;  Tries  to 
Secure  Bergenhus,  315 ;  321, 
329;  Joins  Duke  Kristian, 
330;  331;  at  Council  in 
Trondhjem,  333 ;  Murdered, 
334 

Luther,  303 

Lykke,  Nils,  319,  321,  323,  326, 
332  ;  Death  of,  335 

Lyse,  130 

Maeren,  49,  50,  77 

"  Magister    Capellarum    Regis," 

229,  231 

Magnus  (Barfot),  110 
Magnus,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  114 
Magnus      Erlingss0n,       Chosen 

King,   145;    Crowned,   150; 

His    Compact     with     Abp. 

Eystein,  151 ;  Defeats  Birke- 

beiner,    154 ;    Contest  with 

Sverre,  158 ;  Killed  at  Nore, 

159 
Magnus  Erikss0n,  235 ;  King  of 

Sweden    and  Norway,  236; 

His  Mother  Ingeborg,  239 ; 

Marries  Blanche  of  Namur, 

241 ;  Nicknamed  Smek,  242 ; 

Discontent  in  Sweden,  242 ; 

Attacks      Eussians,       244 ; 

Forced  to  Nominate  a  Drot- 

sete,  250 ;  Drowned  in  B0m- 

mel  Fjord,  251 
Magnus  the  Good,  95,  97 
Magnus  Gissurss0n,  203 
Magnus  Lag  abater,  209 ;  Codifies 

the    Law,   211 ;    Agrees  to 

T0nsberg    Concordat,    213 ; 

Gives  New  Titles  to  Chiefs, 

214 ;  Death  of,  215 
Malmfrid,  114 
Man,  Isle  of,  13,  17,  138,  210, 

243  et  seq. 
Marcellus,  Bp.  of  Skaalholt,  278, 

280  et  seq. 


378 


INDEX. 


Marcus,  Bp.  of  Sodor  and  Man, 
243 

Margaret,  "  The  Maid  of  Nor- 
way," 224 

Margaret  (of  Scotland),  218,  220, 
223 

Margaret,  Queen  (d.  of  Valde- 
mar),  Marriage  of,  250; 
Eules  Denmark,  253  ;  Eccle- 
siastical Policy  of,  254; 
Eegent  in  Norway,  254 ; 
Gains  Sweden,  255  ;  Effects 
Kalmar  Union,  256  ;  Death 
and  Character  of,  267,  268 

Margaret  (d.  of  Kristian  I.),  287 

Margreta,  187,  194 

Marstrand,  277 

Martin,  Bp.,  Sverre's  Chaplain, 
170,  177,  190,  228 

Matthias,  Bp.  of  Strengnaes,  304 

Matthew  Paris,  196  et  seq.,  208 

Maximilian  I.,  Emp.,  299 

Mechlines,  305 

Meldorf,  290 

Mellitus,  72 

"  Michel's  Corn,"  269 

Mindebager,  28 

Mi0sen  Lake,  10,  75 

Mj01nir,  4,  28 

Mortensen,  Jens,  315 

Moster,  42,  43,  56,  71 

Mule,  Hans,  300,  302,  312 

Munkeliv  Cloister,  113,  283,  317, 
336 

Munkholmen,  92,  129 

Mus,  Andreas,  Bp.,  300,  301,  312 

Muspelheim,  3 

Myklegaard,  111 

Namdalen,  76 
Narve,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  220 
"  Nemus  Unionis,"  The,  262,  263 
Netherlands,  The,  345,  346 
Nesje,  64 

Nial,  Bp.  of  Stavanger,  170,  175 
Nicholas  I.,  Pope,  103 
Nicholas  V.,  Pope,  281 
Nicholas  Arness0n,  Bp.  of  Oslo, 
168,  179, 192, 193 


Nicholas  Euser,  orEusare,254,266 

Nidarholm,  Foundation  of,  129 
248 

Nidaros,  Foundation  of,  49 ;  56, 
63,  77,  81,  89,  92,  99,  107, 
119, 121  ;  Primacy  Founded, 
136;  146,  151,158,  162,  166, 
173,  179,  183,  188,  190,  194, 
206;  Council  at,  222;  226, 
240,  243;  Council  at,  249; 
254,  268,  276,  278,  282,  288 

Niffelheim,  3 

Ni0rd,  4,  6 

Nonnesaeter  Cloister,  315 

Nore,  159 

Norges  Gamle  Love,  74 

Normandy,  61 

Northumbria,  24,  63 

Nykj0ping,  Castle  of,  232 

Odd,  68 

Odel  Tenure,  7,  12,  24 

Odense,  253,  312,  313 

Odin,  1,  3,  4,  6 

Odinkar,  35 

Ofoten,  201 

Olaf,  Abp.,  248,  249 

"Olaf's  Corn,"  269 

Olaf  Engelbrektss0n,  Abp.,  305, 
307,  320;  Proclaims  Kristian 
II.,  322 ;  and  the  Count  Pala- 
tine, 331 ;  Eesponsibility  for 
Murder  of  Vincent  Lunge, 
334  ;  Attempts  on  Behalf  of 
Count  Palatine,  335  ;  Flight 
from  Trondhjem,  345 ;  Death 
of,  349 

Olaf  Haakonss0n,  King  of  Den- 
mark, 253  ;  Death  of,  254 

Olaf  Haraldss0n  (St.  Olaf),  Birth, 
60;  in  England  and  Nor- 
mandy, 60;  Baptism,  61 ;  In- 
vades Norway,  63  ;  Chosen 
King  in  Viken,  63 ;  Victorious 
at  Nesje  and  Founds  Borg, 
64  ;  Character  and  Appear- 
ance, 65,  66 ;  His  Policy,  69; 
As  Law-giver,  70 — 74 ;  Chris- 
tianizes the  Oplands,  75 ; 


INDEX. 


379 


Gudbrandsdal,  78 ;  Appeals  to 
Abp.  Unwan  for  Help,  78  ; 
Knut's  Claims,  80;  Flight 
from  Norway,  82  ;  Eeturns, 
83  ;  In  Vaerdalen,  84  ;  Battle 
of  Stiklestad  and  Death, 
86,  87  ;  Disputed  Date,  88 ; 
Temporary  Burial,  90 ;  Body 
Disinterred  and  Saintship 
Proclaimed,  93 ;  Places  of 
Burial,  94 

Olaf  Kvaran,  41 

Olaf  Kyrre,  105, 106 ;  Death  of,  109 

Olaf  Magnuss0n,  110 

Olaf  Nilss0n,  Governor  of  Bergen, 
283,  284 

Olaf's  Skat,  205 

Olaf  of  Sweden,  58 

Olaf  Thorkildss0n,  333,  348 

Olaf  Trygvess0n,  Birth  and  Early 
Life,  40,  41 ;  Invades  Nor- 
way, 42  ;  Chosen  King,  43  ; 
Spreads  Christianity,  45  et 
seq.  ;  Founds  Nidaros,  49 ; 
Destroys  Temple  at  Mseren, 
51 ;  Woos  Sigrid,  51 ;  Con- 
verts Haalogaland,  52;  Battle 
of  Svolder  and  Death,  53 

Oplands,  52,  75,  337 

Orkneys,  13,  17,  33,  42,  96,  138, 
206,  224,  227,  236,  287,  308 

Orm  Eysteinss0n,  250 

Orm  Lyrgia,  38 

Oslo,  Founded,  99 ;  116, 119, 138 ; 
King  Inge  Killed  at,  144 ;  170, 
Skule  Defeated  at,  194  ;  205, 
223  ;  Council  at,  225  ;  Pro- 
vincial Council  at,  227  ;  Abp. 
Olaf  Dies  at,  247;  Council 
at,  271;  276;  Attacked  by 
Swedes,  277 ;  291 ;  Bp.  Karl 
of  Hamar  Dies  at,  292 ;  300, 
315  ;  Kristian  II.  Arrives  at, 
322;  Surrenders  at,  323; 
332  ;  Hans  Eeff  Evangelical 
Superintendent  of,  348 

Ottesdatter,  Fru  Ingerd,  306,  319, 
322 

Otto  II.,  33 


Pallie-hjc&lp,  231 

Paolo  Justiniani,  284 

Parish  Priest,  Duties  of,  125 

Paschal  I.,  Pope,  20 

Paschal  II.,  Pope,  135 

Paul  Baardss0n,  Abp.,  240,  241 ; 

Death  of,  243 
Pederss0n,  Absalon,  352 
Pederss0n,  Geble,  336,  348,  349 
Pein,  Johan,  341 
Perth,  Treaty  of,  210 
Peter,  Abp.,  193 
Peter's  Pence,  142 
Philip  of  Castile,  208 
Philippa,   (d.    of    Henry  IV.   of 

England),  258 
Pius  II.,  Pope,  285 
Pomerania,  273 
Poppo,  33,  35 
Premonstratensians,  130 
Primsigne,  18 
Prussia,  197 
Pudde  Fjord,  283 

Eandsfjord,  40 

Eane,  60 

Eaud  of  God0,  52 

Eagnhild,  11 

Eagnvald  of  M0re,  12 

Eanrike,  58 

Ee,  Battle  of,  154,  202 

Eeff,  Hans,  Bp.  of  Oslo,  312,  322, 

326,  332,  334,  348 
Eeidar,  Abp.  of  Nidaros,  136 
Eeidar  (Sendemand),  172,  180 
Eeinald,  115,  133 
Eeinhard,  Martin,  303 
Eeykjaholt,  203 
Eibe,  34,  307 ;  Manifesto  of,  327 ; 

341 

Eingerike,  45,  60,  61 
Eingsaker,  76 
Eobert  of  Eouen,  61 
Eoe,  Bp.,  156 

Eoed,  Thord,  323,  335,  346 
Eogaland,  37,  46 
Eoger  de  Hoveden,  170 
Eolf  the  Ganger,  14 
Roma  Skat,  142 


380 


INDEX. 


Eoskilde,  254,  268,  287,  293,  342 
Eostock,  255,  271,  287 
Kouen,  62 
E0kenvik,  10 
E0rek,  76 
Eudolf,  69 

Eufus,  St.,  Monastery  of,  137 
Eusheen,  Monastery  of,  243 
Eussell,  Bp.  William,  243,  244 
Eussia,  83 
Eussians,  239,  244 
Eustung,  Kristofer  Throndss0n, 
334—336,  339,  344 

Sag<j>re  or  b<j>der,  148,  166 

Salomon,  Bp.  of  Oslo,  247,  248 

Saracens,  201 

Saeheim,  30 

Saters,  245 

Scilly  Isles,  41 

Scotland,  206 

Sekken,  148 

Selje,  47,  63,  119,  130,  258 

Shetlands,  13,  17,  287,  308 

Sidon,  111 

Sigbrit,  299,  300,  301,  304 

Sigefridus,  25,  355 

Sigfrid,  or  Sigurd,  Bp.  of  Stavan- 

ger,  248 

Sigismund  Herberstein,  299 
Sigmund  Bretess0n,  57 
Sigrid,  51,  53 
Sigurd  (Olaf  T.'s  Bp.),  42,  45,  48, 

355 

Sigurd  (St.  Olaf's  Bp.),  69,  355 
Sigurd  (Knut's  Bp.),  86,  90,  92, 

355 

Sigurd,  Bp.  of  Bergen,  130 
Sigurd  Eindridess0n,    194,   198, 

207 

Sigurd  Erlingss0n,  169 
Sigurd  Guttorm  Sigurdss0n,  187 
Sigurd  Jarl,  23  et  seq. 
Sigurd  Jonss0n,  272,  276,  277 
Sigurd    Jorsalfarer,     110;     His 

Crusade,  111 ;  Eeproved  by 

Bp.    Magnus,   114;    Death, 

116 
Sigurd  Lodvess0n,  42 


Sigurd    Mund,     134;    Eeceives 
Nicholas  Breakspeare,  137  ; 

Killed,  144 

Sigurd  Eibbung,  192,  193 
Sigurd     Slembediakn    (Slembe), 

133 

Sigurd  Syr,  45,  60,  63,  84 
Sigurd  of  Tautra,  192 
Sigvald  Jarl,  37,  53 
Sigvat  the  Skald,  65 
Simon  of  Durham,  106 
Sodor  and  Man  (Suder0erne  and 

Man),  138, 210,  217,  243, 244, 

286 

Sogndals  Fjord,  159 
Sogne  Fjord,  159 
Sole,  59 

S0nderborg,  324,  329 
S0ndhordland,  29 
S0ndm0re,  345 
S<t>lv</>re,  148 
S0rle,  Abp.,  204 
Sjale<j>l,  125 

Sjselland,  330,  341,  343 
Skaalholt,  138,  202,  203,  217,  242, 

278,  280,  285,  297 
Skaals,  6,  73 

Skaane,  80,  233,  250,  341,  343 
Skara,  219,  285 
Skule  Baardss0n,  189,  190,  191, 

194 

Slagelsee,  253 
Slesvig,  21,  33 
Smaaland,  113 
Snorre  Sturlass0n,  202,  203 
Stadt,  37,  47 
Stainmoor,  24 
Stamford  Bridge,  99 
Stavanger,  Founded,  106;  First 

Bishop  of,  115  ;   Cathedral, 

121 ;  138,  200,  223 
Sten  Sture,  302,  303 
Stefner  Thorgilss0n,  55 
Stein,  Abbot  of  Munkeliv,  269 
Stenviksholm,  323,  326,  332,  346 
Stephen  (Papal  Legate),  150 
Stigsen,  Otto,  323 
Stiklestad,  86 
Stockholm,  235,  250,  256,  303 


INDEX. 


381 


Stord,  29 

Strandhug,  13 

Strinds0,  Battle  at,  179 

St0dle,  144 

Svein  Tjugeskjaeg,  37,  52,  53, 
59,  60,  76 

Svein  Jarl,  64 

Svein  Knutss0n,  91 

Svein  Ulfss0n,  97,  135 

Sverker  Karlss0n  (of  Sweden), 
176 

Sverre  Sigurdss0n,  King,  Birth, 
156  ;  Early  Life,  157  ;  Leads 
Birkebeiner,  158 ;  Defeats 
Magnus,  159 ;  Eeconciled  to 
Bystein,  163;  His  Kristen- 
ret,  165 ;  Contest  with  Abp. 
Erik,  Excommunicated,  168 ; 
Crowned,  170 ;  Struggle  with 
Baglers,  172 ;  His  Embassy 
to  Pope,  173  ;  Struggle  with 
Innocent  III.,  His  Tale  mod 
Biskoperne,  177,  179;  De- 
feats Baglers,  180;  Death 
and  Character,  182—184 

Svolder,  53,  58 

Sysselmand,  164,  227 

Sylte,  82 

Sunniva,  St.,  47,  119 

Tale  mod  Biskoperne,  The,  177, 

178 

Tautra,  190,  210,  319,  334 
Teodbrand,      or       Thangbrand, 

56 

Theodore  of  Niem,  249,  262 
Things,  2 
Thor,  4,  73 

Thora  of  Guldalen,  43 
Thora  of  Moster,  14 
Thore,  Bp.  of  Hamar,  170,  173 
Thore,  Abp.,  193 
Thore  Hund,  81,  85,  93 
Thore  Klakka,  41,  42 
Thorfinn,  Bp.  of  Hamar,  219 
Thorgil,  89 
Thorkel  the  Tall,  60 
Thorkildss0n,  Olaf ,  Bp.  of  Bergen, 

311,  318,  333 


Thorlak  Thorhallss0n,  202 
Thorleif  Olafss0n,  Bp.  of  Bergen, 

283,  284,  288 
Thorny,  99 

Thorvald  Kodranss0n,  55 
Thyra,  53 
Tithes,  111,  128,  218,  221,  257, 

344 

Thrond,  Abp.,  252,  253 
Throndss0n,  Abp.  Olaf,  279,  281, 

285,  287 

Torolv  Luseskjaeg,  40 
Tostig,  99 
T0nsberg,  14,  132,  154,  180,  200, 

213,  233,  271 

Translation  of  St.  Olaf,  94 
Trolds,  4 

Trolle,  Gustav,  Abp.,  303 
Troms0,  201 

Tr0ndelagen,  8,  34,  42,  145 
Trondhjem,  288,  293  ;  Abp.  Erik 

Leaves,  300;  304;  Fire  at, 

321 ;  323,  326,  345,  347 
Trygve,  31,  40 
Turgot,  106 

Ulf  Gudmarson,  259 
Ulfstand,  Truid,  346,  347 
Ulster,  110 
Unas,  156 

Unwan  of  Bremen,  78,  101 
Upsala,  235,  272,  275 
Urban  II.,  Pope,  135 
Urban  IV.,  Pope,  210 
Urban  V.,  Pope,  260,  261 
Urban  VI.,  Pope,  266 
Urguthrj0tr,  35 
Utrecht,  301 

Vadstena,  261,  269 

V^rdal,  84 

Vserne  Priory,  326 

Valdemar  Atterdag,  253,  267 

Valdemar  of  Gardarike,  40 

Valders,  75 

Valdendorf,  Erik,  Abp.,  293,  296, 

301,  304,  311 
Vardberg,  242 
Vasa,  Gustavus,  330 


382  INDEX. 


Vebj0rn,  99 

Vendland,  40,  53 

Vends,  96 

Vermland,  155 

Vestfold,  10 

Viborg,  279 

Viborg,  Jens,  314 

Victor  IV.,  Pope,  147 

Viken,  31,  34,  36,  45,   59,  145, 

190 

Viking  Expeditions,  17,  107 
Vinalde  Henrikss0n,  Abp.,  257, 

266 

Vincent,  Bp.  of  Skara,  304 
Vinland,  57 
Vitalie-brtdre,  The,  255 


Von  Heiderstorp,  323 
Voss,  333 


William  of  Jumieges,  61 
William  of  Malmesbury,  25 
William  of  Newbury,  160 
William,  Cardinal  Bp.  of  Sabina, 

196,  316 
Winchester,  115 
Wismar,  255 


0lgerdir,  73,  108 
01mod  the  Old,  46 
01ve  of  Egg,  77 
0re  Thing,  333 
0steraat,  306 


NOTE. — aa,  as  in  Haakon,  etc.,  is  pronounced  like  a  long  o ;  the 
final  e  is  always  sounded,  but  as  a  short  e ;  sk,  before  i  or  jt  is 
pronounced  as  sh ;  0  is  like  the  French  eu  or  German  0. 


THE    END. 


BRADBURY,   AGNEAV,   &   CO.    LD.,    PRINTERS,   LONDON  AND  TONBRIDGK. 


Historical    Map 
of 

NORWAY,  SWEDEN  and  DENMARK 
ty 

Gusiav  Storm 

Including    fhe  Country  around  Mdaros 
(Trondhjem)  and  Oslo  (Krisiiania.) 


flenjorrv  fyim.  JiihAnsi.  Ans 


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